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Welcome to the Liberty Baptist 
Sermon Archives. 

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The message you're about to hear
was preached at Liberty Baptist 

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Church in Easton, MA. 
You can find out more about us 

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or contact us at my 
libertybaptist.org or just look 

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us up on Facebook. 
And now we hope that this 

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message from God's Word will be 
a blessing to you. 

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Would you please turn to 1st 
Corinthians chapter #3 this 

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evening? 
First Corinthians chapter #3 as 

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we continue our series Living 
for God in an Ungodly World. 

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And tonight we're going to look 
at the issue of the minister. 

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Now, if I was to ask you, what 
does the minister do, you 

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probably would come up with all 
kinds of different answers. 

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You'd say, well, you know, he 
makes phone calls and he makes 

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visits and he sends texts and 
emails. 

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Especially, you know, if you 
don't show up to church, he 

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finds a way to find you, right? 
You might answer that way. 

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He you'd say he prepares 
sermons. 

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And certainly sermon preparation
is a big task of what I do 

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during any typical week. 
You might say that I 

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administrate the church. 
That's what a minister does, 

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that a minister administrates 
the needs of the church, and 

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it's amazing to me, even in a 
church membership that would be 

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smaller than some other 
churches, there's still so much 

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to do in any given week. 
Working with church members, 

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finding new church members, 
going soul, winning on an 

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outreach, all these things. 
These are the things that a 

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minister does. 
Yes, you could answer that about

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my life, and all of those things
would be correct. 

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But although those are good 
answers, I want to answer the 

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question in a different way. 
When you ask what does a 

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minister do? 
I could answer the question this

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way with another question. 
Don't you love it when people 

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answer a question with a 
question? 

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But I'm going to answer your 
question with a question, what 

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does a minister do? 
And my answer could be, well, 

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what do you do? 
Because believe it or not, while

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I am a minister, I am a pastor, 
that you are as much a minister 

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of the grace of God as I am. 
Oh yes, there's a calling of 

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pastor it upon my life that 
there's no doubt upon that. 

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I mean, I hold the office of a 
pastor. 

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I hold the keys of the pastor. 
That's there's no doubt about 

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that. 
But that doesn't mean that I 

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have exclusive right to the use 
of the term minister. 

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God has called you to be a 
minister. 

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And so if we ask the question, 
what does the minister do, I 

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could say, well, what do you do?
Because really it comes down to 

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this. 
We are the ministers who are 

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supposed to be doing the 
ministry. 

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Now, we know the church at 
Corinth is a mess. 

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We've been talking about that, 
and we talked about carnal 

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Christianity last week. 
Well, Paul is going to kind of 

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turn this conversation a little 
bit to go back to something that

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was mentioned back in chapter #1
of the friction between the 

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different groups. 
I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I 

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am of Cephas, or Peter, I'm of 
Christ. 

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And he's going to use that 
conversation to basically say 

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this, shouldn't we all be 
working together for the cause 

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of the ministry? 
That it's not this group and 

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that group and these people and 
those people that we all are 

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working for one master and we 
are all working together for one

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ministry. 
So we're in First Corinthians 

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chapter #3 we're going to begin 
in verse #4 and it says this. 

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For while one saith, I am of 
Paul and another I am of 

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Apollos. 
Are ye not carnal? 

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That we read that last week, 
didn't we, this carnal issue of 

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Christianity? 
And it says in verse 5, who then

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is Paul and who is Apollos? 
But ministers by whom he 

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believed even as the Lord gave 
to every man. 

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I have planted, Apollos watered,
but God gave the increase, so 

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that neither is he that planted 
anything, neither he that 

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watereth, but God that giveth 
the increase. 

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Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one. 

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And every man shall receive his 
own reward according to his own 

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labor. 
For we are laborers together 

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with God your God husbandry your
God's building according to the 

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grace of God which is given unto
me as a wise master builder. 

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I have laid the foundation, and 
another buildeth thereon. 

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But let every man take heed how 
he buildeth thereupon, and we'll

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stop right there for our reading
here this evening. 

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Now, the word minister is 
interesting because it's both a 

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noun and a verb. 
The word minister is both a noun

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and a verb. 
A person can be a minister, 

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which makes it a noun. 
But the action that defines them

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is a verb because remember, a 
verb is typically an action 

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word. 
There's other types of verbs as 

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well. 
You don't want me to get into 

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that tonight. 
I taught English for a while. 

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I love getting into that. 
You don't want that. 

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But just know that typically a 
verb is action and that yes, a 

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minister is a person, a noun. 
But minister also is something 

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you can do. 
It's an action, It's a verb. 

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According to the 1828 
dictionary, it could mean this 

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as a verb to attend and serve to
perform service in any office. 

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So really that idea to minister 
is someone who attends and 

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serves. 
And that's not just the minister

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meaning the one behind the 
pulpit. 

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Are you called to serve? 
I hope we could answer yes. 

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Have God called you to be able 
to labor in his vineyard? 

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Yes. 
The answer is for all of us that

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know Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Well, then the answer to this is

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yes. 
And you are a minister. 

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And then yes, I am a minister as
well. 

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And so from our text, there's a 
lot of work that's going on. 

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There's a lot of things that are
taking place. 

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And so I want us to look at this
in a few different ways. 

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And so if you're following along
in the back of your prayer 

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bulletin, you can write this for
#1 number one is just, well, 

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work. 
You know what ministry is. 

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Get ready for this is work. 
If you want to minister and not 

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work, then you don't really 
understand what ministry is all 

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about. 
And this idea of being a 

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minister, again, I didn't just 
pull this out of thin air. 

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Of course, we see service all 
throughout this text. 

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But look again at verse 5. 
It says, who then is Paul and 

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who is Apollo's? 
But what ministers by whom he 

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believed, even as the Lord gave 
to every man. 

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And basically saying this, who 
do you think I am? 

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Who do you think Apollo is? 
Do you think we're someone 

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that's so great and so mighty in
and of ourselves? 

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No, no, we are simply servants 
of the living God. 

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If I could put it this way, the 
only one who's a big deal is 

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him. 
The rest of us are just serving 

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he who is a big deal. 
No, no, we are nothing. 

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We are ministers, we are 
servants and that is what God 

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has called us to do. 
And it says in the following 

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verses 3 different times, it 
uses the term planting and 

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watering. 
Verse 6, I have planted Apollos 

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watered. 
Verse 7 Neither is he that 

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planteth anything, neither is he
that watereth. 

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Verse 8 Now he that planteth and
he that watereth are one, three 

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different times planting and 
watering, planting and watering,

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planting and watering. 
And I'm not a farmer, but I know

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this planting is work and 
watering is work. 

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Now we know this on a small 
scale. 

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Some of you have gardens that 
you tend in this time of year. 

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And this is this is the growing 
season right now, isn't it? 

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If you've got any type of garden
that you want to take care of. 

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But if you want to plant and you
want to have some sort of 

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harvest, even in a small garden 
like you might have around your 

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house, it takes a lot of work, 
doesn't it? 

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Because even before you plant, 
you got to prep the soil, right?

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You got to make sure that you 
take all the rocks out because 

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for some reason you took the 
rocks out last season and the 

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rocks bred between last season 
and this season. 

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And there's more rocks that are 
there because it's, you know, 

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New England's best crop rocks. 
And so you got to take those out

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and then you got to get the 
weeds out that we're starting to

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grow all the way in February. 
And I wish that was a joke, but 

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the first weeds pop out here in 
the parking lot in February. 

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They're ready to grow, but you 
got to play, get everything 

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ready and then you got to plant.
And the way we plant today in 

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our society compared to maybe in
those days, Bible days where 

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they would broadcast the seed, 
basically just take the seed and

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they throw it everywhere. 
We're a little bit more careful 

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in the way that we place the 
seed and it was work for them to

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broadcast it and throw it out. 
It's work for us to be able to 

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diligently place it into the 
ground. 

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However you do it, it's going to
take work. 

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You're going to get dirty. 
You're going to be on your 

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knees. 
It's not going to be fun. 

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It's going to be hot outside. 
Listen, if you can plant and not

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work, then you're probably not 
plant. 

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But then once you plant, it 
would be great if it's done, but

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it's not. 
Well, what do you got to do? 

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You got to water and water and 
water. 

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And you can pray that the Lord 
brings the water, which is 

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certainly the way that we would 
prefer it, isn't it? 

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But at the same time, there are 
stretches like we're going 

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through right now where there's 
not a lot of water. 

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Three or four months ago, there 
was more water than we knew what

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to do with. 
Now there's no water insight in 

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those clouds. 
And So what do you got to do? 

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You keep watering and watering, 
watering and watering and 

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watering. 
So it's short term work and it's

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long term work. 
All of it is still work with 

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some plant, some water, but then
it says this God gives the 

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increase. 
So when we look at this issue of

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work, planting and watering, 
it's something that's done in 

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the short term, it's something 
that's done in the long term, 

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and then the season's done and 
it's never done again, right? 

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No, you go through the seasons, 
you come back the next same time

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next year, and what happens? 
You do it over again. 

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The farmer is going to go 
through the same cycle over and 

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over and over again. 
Get this until he dies. 

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That's what he's going to do 
because he's a farmer. 

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This is what he is supposed to 
do. 

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Do you know for us that when it 
comes the issue of ministry, 

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when it comes the issue of being
a minister, it is work. 

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You know, sometimes we get the 
idea that when we join a church 

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or we're part of a church, that 
we just get to sit and we get to

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soak and we get to take in 
everything and listen. 

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You should be able to take in 
the blessings of the Lord when 

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you come to church, to be up to 
listen to the music, to hear the

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preaching, to be encouraged by 
the fellowship. 

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That's a wonderful thing. 
But I would also submit to you 

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that you are called to pour into
that very same institution of 

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which you are receiving from as 
well. 

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So what does that mean? 
Work. 

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Because if everybody receives 
and nobody works, then nobody's 

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going to be able to receive 
anything. 

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Everybody's got to do some work.
Well, you know, I'd like to be 

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at a church where I don't really
have to work. 

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Well, that's not called church. 
In fact, even social clubs, 

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there are requirements of things
that you have to do it to show 

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up to certain events or you have
to do certain things just so 

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that you can be part of the 
club. 

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You know, God has called us to 
be more. 

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He's called us to be planters. 
He's called us to be waterers as

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Christian. 
God has called us to minister to

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the needs of others. 
Literally it's part of your DNA 

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when you became a new creature 
that God has called you and He's

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equipped you to meet the needs 
of others, called you to work. 

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DL Moody wrote the following 
words next to Isaiah chapter 6 

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verse 8 in his Bible and you 
might be familiar with that 

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passage. 
Remember who will go for us? 

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The Lord says, and Isaiah says, 
here am I send me. 

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He wrote this in his Bible. 
DL Moody did. 

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He says I am only one, but I am 
one. 

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I cannot do everything, but I 
can do something. 

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What I can do I ought to do, and
what I ought to do, by the grace

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of God I will do. 
A minister works like the farmer

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towards planting and watering, 
but there's something either of 

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them cannot do, and that's this.
They can't give an increase. 

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The farmer can plant and water 
all he wants, but he has to 

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00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:48,880
trust the process that there 
will be an increased. 

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00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,080
By the way, who put that process
into place? 

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00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:59,800
God the minister plants and 
waters, but can he produce quote

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00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,720
UN quote salvations? 
Can he produce Christians that 

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00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,080
are right with God? 
No, doesn't matter how good the 

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00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,320
programs are that we do what we 
can, but then we leave it to the

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Lord. 
You say, well pastor, are are 

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you discouraged about Saturday? 
You know, we had all of those 

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00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,800
people, probably somewhere 
around 160 people on the 

234
00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,520
property without counting us 
here and all the people we fed 

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00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,360
and all the things that Are you 
discouraged about what happened?

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00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:32,800
And my answer is I would be 
discouraged if the increase was 

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00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,320
up to me. 
Here's what it was up to us. 

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00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:41,640
Did we plant? 
Did we water our third year 

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holding the back to school bash?
And in my hands here, I have the

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00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:50,640
cards of all the people who are 
interested in someone talking to

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00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:55,880
them about the Lord or about 
church, about children's 

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00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:02,320
ministries, wanting prayer. 25 
cards, 76 people. 

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00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,760
You know what this represents? 
Planting and watering. 

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00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,120
Was it work? 
Oh, yeah, it was work when there

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00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,240
was a line 12 people long for 
snow cones. 

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00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,920
Marsha's going to have to go to 
therapy after all that she had 

247
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:19,840
to deal with with that on 
Saturday alone. 

248
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,560
Was it work when you're at the 
grill and you feel like your 

249
00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:28,680
eyebrows are about to singe off 
and you're going hamburger after

250
00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:30,680
hamburger and hot dog after hot 
dog? 

251
00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,440
Is it work when those kids are 
in a bounce house and they're 

252
00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,760
more bouncing off of each other 
than bouncing on the moonwalk? 

253
00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,040
It's work. 
But you know what? 

254
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,000
We can't control what happened 
on Sunday. 

255
00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:46,520
We can't control what happens 
next Sunday. 

256
00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,040
We can't control how many get 
saved. 

257
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:50,840
Here's what I do know. 
We control that. 

258
00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:54,520
You and I as ministers do 
everything that we can to plant 

259
00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,840
and plant and plant and to water
and water and water. 

260
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,120
And we do all that we can and we
leave it to the Lord and say, 

261
00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:06,160
Lord, we've done everything that
we can do and now we beg you for

262
00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:11,080
the increase. 
It's work, it's difficult, it's 

263
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,000
tiring. 
Some of you went home and you 

264
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,200
took a nap before your normal 
Saturday afternoon nap. 

265
00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,960
Then you woke up and then took 
your Saturday afternoon nap 

266
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,160
after that. 
Whose work? 

267
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,600
But it was blessed work, wasn't 
it? 

268
00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:27,880
Imagine that farmer after all 
those months planting and 

269
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,760
watering, and he looks out at a 
harvest and he feels a 

270
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,120
satisfaction. 
Not in the satisfaction that he 

271
00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:37,800
provided the harvest. 
He knows who provided the 

272
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:44,640
harvest, but that the Lord used 
him in his grand process to be 

273
00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,680
able that little patch of land 
to produce something that God 

274
00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:55,040
would deem us worthy to use us. 
Who are you, who am I? 

275
00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,840
He'd still use us to do work in 
His vineyard. 

276
00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,040
And what an awesome 
responsibility that is. 

277
00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,920
What an what an amazing joy that
is that God would deem us worthy

278
00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,680
to be His Workman in His 
vineyard. 

279
00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,360
Find that people do get 
discouraged when they get their 

280
00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,840
fulfillment from the results. 
Well, the results aren't what we

281
00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:22,800
want. 
We should be running 100 right 

282
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:24,320
now. 
Why don't we have 200 people in 

283
00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:25,240
our church? 
Have you looked at this 

284
00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:26,760
building? 
We couldn't have 200 people in 

285
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,040
this church. 
I think last Saturday proved 

286
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,880
that pretty well. 
You know what? 

287
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,320
I try to find my fulfillment in 
that plant the way I should. 

288
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:40,400
Did I water the way I should? 
Because that's something I am in

289
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:44,120
control in. 
I can control how much a plant, 

290
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,840
I can control how much a water, 
but then we give the results to 

291
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,720
God. 
First Corinthians 1031. 

292
00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:53,160
We'll look at this later. 
Whether you eat or drink or 

293
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,720
whatsoever you do all for the 
glory of God and listen, we 

294
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,480
can't control what happens to 
the seed just as much as that. 

295
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,120
Sower and Matthew chapter 13 
when he was broadcasting the 

296
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,440
seed and he was spreading it 
out. 

297
00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,920
What happened? 
Some fell on the ground that was

298
00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,080
the wayside. 
That's like the sidewalk. 

299
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,640
Nothing's growing on that. 
Some fell on the ground that was

300
00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,840
shallow. 
Some fell on the ground that was

301
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,360
thorny, and some fell on good 
ground. 

302
00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:28,680
And that sewer wasn't going. 
Put that one in and put that one

303
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,400
in. 
Put that one in about 3 an hour.

304
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,240
I'll find the perfect little 
spot. 

305
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,200
No, he says. 
I'm going to do as much as I can

306
00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,360
and I'll throw it out there and 
I'm going to give it to the 

307
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,320
Lord. 
You know, sometimes we're 

308
00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:49,320
looking for that perfect person 
to talk to you about the Lord or

309
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,600
the perfect opportunity to talk 
to someone about the Lord. 

310
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:55,360
I imagine the Lord in heaven 
doing something like this and 

311
00:16:55,360 --> 00:17:01,280
saying just talk to anyone. 
You're waiting to talk to that 

312
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,119
perfect person in the perfect 
opportunity. 

313
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,839
Just talk to someone. 
Sow the seed, do some work. 

314
00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,800
That's the work of a minister. 
The task of the minister is to 

315
00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:15,800
do what he can do and then get 
out of the way and allow God to 

316
00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,720
do what only he can do. 
What do we do? 

317
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,680
We got to work. 
That's what God's called us to 

318
00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:22,200
do. 
But it's not just that we have 

319
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,000
to work. 
I also see this from our text 

320
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:25,839
that number 2, we've got to work
together. 

321
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,880
We've got to work together. 
This idea is found all 

322
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,840
throughout verses 5 through 7, 
because in really, even before 

323
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,200
that verse 4, Paul and Apollos, 
verse 5, Paul and Apollos verse 

324
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:44,000
6 Apollos I being Paul verse 7. 
Neither is he that planteth 

325
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,880
anything either is he that 
watereth anything but God that 

326
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,960
giveth the increase. 
And really it all comes together

327
00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:54,520
as a crescendo in verse #8 Now 
he that planteth and he that 

328
00:17:54,520 --> 00:18:01,720
watereth are what, 1 You see, 
this work that we do isn't just 

329
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,560
done singularly. 
Now, I understand that you have 

330
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,360
an opportunity to talk to people
during the week and be able to 

331
00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,240
influence them, for the Lord to 
serve them, to help them. 

332
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,640
But typically when you do that, 
where are you inviting them to? 

333
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,040
You're inviting them to a church
where we all are able to 

334
00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,560
minister to that person 
together. 

335
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,120
Sure, you might invite them to 
church, but once they get in 

336
00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:26,600
here, there's going to be a lot 
of other people that are going 

337
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,200
to help as well. 
This is a team effort. 

338
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,320
As ministers, we must work 
together. 

339
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,840
That's the old acronym for team 
Together. 

340
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,600
Everyone achieves more. 
You say, well, that's kind of 

341
00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,040
hokey. 
You know, something like that. 

342
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,640
Well, it is kind of hokey, but 
here's the thing. 

343
00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:46,680
It's true. 
The only reason people have 

344
00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,760
repeated it for who knows how 
long is because there's truth in

345
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,960
it. 
Together, everyone achieves 

346
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,160
more. 
I remember Carl Boonstra, who 

347
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,320
was the president of the Baptist
Bible Fellowship International 

348
00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:03,240
for about 15 years or so. 
And he was instrumental in the 

349
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,560
1980s, an independent Baptist 
movement, of being able to help 

350
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:08,600
send missionaries all around the
world. 

351
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,760
And I had the opportunity to 
meet him a few years ago when he

352
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,120
was somewhere around 98 years 
old. 

353
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,560
And I will tell you this, I 
would have put that 98 years 

354
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,640
year old man against a lot of 
other people because he still 

355
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:21,520
had the fire in his belly. 
He loved the Lord. 

356
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,880
He was reading prayer letters. 
He knew more about what's going 

357
00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:25,440
on in our church from reading 
our prayer letters. 

358
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,880
Sometimes I think that I knew 
what was going on at our church.

359
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,000
I mean, it was incredible. 
At 98 years old, he had a 

360
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:31,640
magnifying glass next to his 
desk. 

361
00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,160
It looked like this. 
So when he put his face into it,

362
00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,080
looked at one eyeball, it was 
like this. 

363
00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:39,440
But he was going to do whatever 
he could to be able to read his 

364
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,240
Bible and to read about missions
and do whatever he could. 

365
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,960
But Carl Boonstra was 
instrumental in saying for many 

366
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,680
years that when it came to the 
issue of missions, he said think

367
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,960
about what we can do together. 
Think about what we can do 

368
00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:55,960
together. 
He would go to different 

369
00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,200
churches, preach at missions 
conference. 

370
00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,880
He said think about what we 
could do together. 

371
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,400
Meaning this, that when we 
sponsor A missionary, we support

372
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,200
a missionary. 
We got missionaries on that back

373
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,240
wall. 
Sure there's a sending church 

374
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,880
that sends them, but they might 
have 20304050 churches. 

375
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,240
That are all together supplying 
$50 here, $100 here to be able 

376
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,920
to help to send those people on 
the field. 

377
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,040
And then also it's not just 
about the finances, but also 

378
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,560
those churches ought to be 
praying for those missionaries, 

379
00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,280
right? 
That's why we have a couple 

380
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,440
times on Wednesday nights every 
month or we read you a 

381
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:30,720
missionary prayer letter. 
Why? 

382
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:32,480
Because not just about sending a
check. 

383
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,640
Sometimes that's the easy part. 
But the hard part is holding the

384
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,760
rope on this side of the world 
for those people in Papua New 

385
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:45,760
Guinea, for those people that 
are in Russia or those people 

386
00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,840
that are in England, and to be 
able to say, hey, we're praying 

387
00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,640
for you, that when we're going 
to sleep, they're just getting 

388
00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,400
up to be able to start to 
minister on the other side of 

389
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:55,280
the world. 
Why? 

390
00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:58,120
Because we're doing it together.
You realize God has called us, 

391
00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,560
you know, Acts chapter one, 
verse 8 says that we are to go 

392
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,040
into Jerusalem and Judea and 
Samaria and the uttermost parts 

393
00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,000
of the earth. 
We can't do that ourselves 

394
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:12,080
unless in our own assembly, you 
and I can just send people and 

395
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,840
say, all right, you are going to
South America, you are going to 

396
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,040
Europe, you are going, nobody 
wants Antarctica, all right. 

397
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,080
But we're, we're divvying out 
the world just here at Liberty 

398
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,000
Baptist Church. 
We can't do that. 

399
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,880
But you know, we can do. 
We can partner with those who 

400
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:26,600
are going and be able to help 
them. 

401
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,920
Why? 
Because together everyone 

402
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,520
achieves more. 
Think of what we can accomplish 

403
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,800
together. 
Those aren't just sweet 

404
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,000
platitudes. 
God created us this way. 

405
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,120
You know, you may not like this 
because there's a lot of people 

406
00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:41,120
who say, well, you know, I just 
I'm a loner. 

407
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:44,080
I do things by myself. 
Listen, you may think that and 

408
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,400
there might be an element of 
that in your life, but God 

409
00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,680
called us to be able to be 
creatures who work together. 

410
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,840
Now we don't like that because 
we think of the people who are 

411
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:54,920
working together. 
We're the smartest of the group 

412
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:56,640
that you know, we're working 
together with. 

413
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,000
It's really quiet. 
So I think I think I I might 

414
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,040
struck oil there. 
All right. 

415
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:07,120
Now you understand, when we work
together, what do we see? 

416
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,920
That's the way God designed us. 
Eventually we're going to get to

417
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,440
1st Corinthians chapter 12, and 
when we get there, what do we 

418
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,280
see? 
We're a body, and they're 

419
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,000
different parts of the body, and
they're all different. 

420
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,240
We all have different strengths,
but God uses us to work 

421
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,320
together. 
You know what's thinking about 

422
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:26,120
this? 
Just as an illustration, imagine

423
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:30,640
on Sunday morning that there's a
young mother that walks the 

424
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,600
aisle and that she at the end of
the service comes to trust Jesus

425
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,000
Christ your Savior. 
I mean, everybody would rejoice 

426
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,600
in that, wouldn't they? 
I mean, I hope you would all 

427
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,120
right, some of you would just 
woke up, all right. 

428
00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:43,880
But we would rejoice if someone 
got saved here on Sunday 

429
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:45,040
morning, right? 
That would be great. 

430
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,480
I mean, they can get they get 
saved Sunday night, Wednesday 

431
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,080
night. 
But on Sunday morning we would 

432
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,120
rejoice. 
And people say, look pastor, you

433
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:57,120
preach the message and God used 
you to be able to see that woman

434
00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,160
get saved. 
And the answer would be, well 

435
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,160
maybe yes to a point that God 
used some of my planting or 

436
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,360
watering. 
But there was a lot of other 

437
00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:09,840
people involved in what took 
place because that young mother 

438
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:13,920
had a child in the nursery. 
And there's 2 nursery workers 

439
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,360
that would have planted and 
watered, but that nursery had to

440
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,680
be clean. 
There was a couple people that 

441
00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:25,040
came in that cleaned to make 
sure the nursery wasn't dirty, 

442
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,160
that it was sanitary. 
There were some people that 

443
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:31,600
planted and watered. 
Brother Anthony would have put 

444
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,960
together the schedule so that 
people would have known when to 

445
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,480
clean and when to be in the 
nursery. 

446
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,080
That's planting and watering. 
He would have received from Miss

447
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,320
Cassandra, who was supposed to 
be in the nursery to put on the 

448
00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,600
schedule. 
So that would be planting and 

449
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,640
watering. 
And that's just in that little 

450
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:49,920
illustration. 
But imagine this. 

451
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,600
She would have heard someone 
playing the piano and that would

452
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:54,560
have been Diane planting and 
watering. 

453
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,200
She would have heard people who 
were singing to the Lord and 

454
00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,560
actually smiling and happy about
it. 

455
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,240
And there'd be planting and 
watering and there'd be people 

456
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,000
fellowshipping with her and 
talking to her. 

457
00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:07,960
And there'd be someone out in 
the parking lot telling her 

458
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,040
where to come in or where to 
park because we don't know where

459
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,120
to park anymore. 
And all these things are taking 

460
00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:13,920
place. 
And you say, but Pastor, you are

461
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,880
the one to know. 
We all planted and we all 

462
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:21,920
watered, but God gave the 
increase. 

463
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,760
By the way, when you're not here
on Sunday morning, we miss that.

464
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,720
When you're not here on Sunday 
morning, you miss that. 

465
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,360
You miss fruit that was supposed
to be to your account. 

466
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,800
You'll be at the judgment seat 
of Christ, spiritually barren 

467
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,600
because you had something else 
going on on Sunday. 

468
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:44,600
Hey, Pastor, you're talking 
tough. 

469
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,360
No, no, I'm really just telling 
you what the Bible says. 

470
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,640
It's called the Lord's Day and 
we want to do His work because 

471
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,040
we're His ministers. 
No, no, I'm not trying to get 

472
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:56,840
after anyone. 
I've got no one in mind other 

473
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,920
than just say I feel sorry for 
those who will miss at the 

474
00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,080
judgment seat of Christ. 
No, we're getting there. 

475
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,360
Same chapter. 
There's going to be some people 

476
00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:07,600
in the judgment seat of Christ 
that are going to miss what God 

477
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,560
wanted to be able to give them 
so that they could give it back 

478
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,840
to Him. 
They're going to miss that for 

479
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,840
something that made no 
difference for eternity. 

480
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:23,680
It's almost like, how would I 
put it, Like your future should 

481
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:28,480
affect your present, that where 
we're going ought to affect what

482
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,560
we're doing right now. 
Yeah, I remember when I preached

483
00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:31,640
Sunday morning. 
You're surprised? 

484
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,400
I know. 
I was surprised there for a 

485
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:34,720
second, too, to be honest with 
you. 

486
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,040
But yes, our future ought to 
affect our present. 

487
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,880
But we work together. 
None of us made her get saved in

488
00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,200
that illustration, but everybody
had a part. 

489
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,520
God gives the increase and we do
all that we can look at verse 

490
00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,120
number line for we are laborers 
together with God. 

491
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,120
What are laborers? 
They are ministers. 

492
00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:58,680
They are servants. 
That's not a stretch. 

493
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,280
When he's talking about we, we 
could point right back to verse 

494
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,840
#5 when he's talking about Paul 
and Apollo's that we work 

495
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,160
together for the cause of the 
ministry. 

496
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:09,840
I've heard it said before that 
we're to work like it's all up 

497
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:15,800
to us, but we pray like it's all
up to the Lord because it is all

498
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,120
up to the Lord. 
You know, we work like it's all 

499
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:20,880
up to us. 
We do everything we can to be 

500
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,480
able to serve the Lord, but we 
pray like it's all up to Him 

501
00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,920
because it is all up to him. 
By the way, This is why men's 

502
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,400
prayer is so important on Sunday
morning. 

503
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,440
It's so important because we 
come together to say, Lord, 

504
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:36,360
we've done all that we can and 
we lay this all to you because 

505
00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,400
we know what's about to happen 
for the next 2 1/2 hours. 

506
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,920
We are not in control of the 
increase, so we give it to you. 

507
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:46,440
No, it's not just a time where 
guys just drink coffee and chat 

508
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,680
for a while. 
It's the engine that makes 

509
00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,800
Sunday go. 
It's the engine of our week to 

510
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:55,080
be able to gather together and 
say, I'm praying that this one 

511
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:57,480
comes to church today. 
I'm praying that this one that I

512
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,080
talked to this week that I gave 
a track to, I pray that they 

513
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:01,440
would come. 
There's someone that's 

514
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:02,920
discouraged, a brother in 
Christ. 

515
00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,000
I texted him this week, I called
him this week. 

516
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:06,720
I'm praying that he's be here. 
No, no, no, not that we're 

517
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,520
gossiping. 
And now that we're trying to to 

518
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,560
puff up ourselves like we're the
ones that have been doing all 

519
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:13,040
the work. 
No, no, what we're saying is 

520
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,600
there's some people we've been 
planting and watering with this 

521
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:20,080
week, or that I planted and 
someone else watered and we're 

522
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:24,080
begging God to give the increase
because only he gives the 

523
00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,240
increase. 
And This is why praying every 

524
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,520
day that God would give us 
opportunities to share the 

525
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:34,480
gospel is so important. 
It is so easy to be busy in your

526
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,960
life, to not want to talk to 
anybody, to not want to deal 

527
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,280
with anybody. 
And it is so easy to miss the 

528
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,760
opportunities that you have to 
talk to people about the gospel.

529
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,640
You know, it's really easy to 
talk to people, easier than we 

530
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,400
think. 
We were in a hurry this morning 

531
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,120
and I had to leave with Peyton. 
I was getting her to a birthday 

532
00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:58,400
party and we had ordered some 
things for the birthday party 

533
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,600
online. 
They weren't fulfilled in time. 

534
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:05,560
And so I had to, I had to go 
into the store instead of 

535
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,040
driving up and picking it up. 
I had to cancel it and go into 

536
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:09,920
the store to pick up the items 
that were there. 

537
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:12,840
And I was in a hurry. 
And so I immediately went to the

538
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,600
self checkout lines. 
And the store was obviously 

539
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,720
open, but they were all closed. 
And they had one young lady just

540
00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:22,520
standing there. 
And, you know, I was in such a 

541
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,600
hurry. 
I thought, well, I just want to 

542
00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,320
scan this and get out of here. 
And I'm in line, you know, and 

543
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:29,840
and there's someone in front of 
me. 

544
00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,800
And the other person finally 
goes through and the lady says, 

545
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,040
you know, did you find 
everything OK? 

546
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,720
I'm thinking, yeah, yeah, yeah, 
yeah, I found OK. 

547
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,320
Like, let's speed this up, all 
right. 

548
00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:45,000
And, and there's Peyton, there's
my daughter, my friend's having 

549
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,680
a birthday today. 
Oh, how about that? 

550
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,600
And the two of them were talking
and they're like, can we hurry 

551
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,400
this up? 
But you know, what's amazing is 

552
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,760
that I'm just, she's not really 
saying much. 

553
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,880
I'm not saying much, but a 
conversation starts. 

554
00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,800
And all of a sudden this woman 
became the most talkative person

555
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:02,320
in the world. 
And I would have, you'd asked me

556
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,560
30 seconds before I thought, 
this woman doesn't want to talk 

557
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:07,840
and I don't want to talk. 
What I'm saying is this, there's

558
00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:10,720
more opportunities out there 
than we realize to be able to 

559
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,200
engage with people. 
And maybe if we prayed about it 

560
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:16,000
in the beginning of each day 
that the Lord would be able to 

561
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,280
help us identify who those 
people were as we went because 

562
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,600
we'd be soul conscious 
throughout the day, We'd be 

563
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,440
conscious of those souls who 
need Christ. 

564
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,840
You say, well, listen, what am I
going to win someone to Christ 

565
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,520
right there in the in the middle
of Shaws? 

566
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,280
Well, I mean, they probably 
appreciate it, but no, the 

567
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,760
answer is no, it's very 
unlikely. 

568
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:40,440
You know what you could do? 
Plant of water. 

569
00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,720
It could be that you hand them a
track and someone had talked to 

570
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,720
them a few weeks ago about the 
Lord and they can't get it out 

571
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,720
of their mind and all of a 
sudden a random stranger comes 

572
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:52,760
up to them and invites them to 
church. 

573
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,080
What may seem like a coincidence
to us is the Lord orchestrating 

574
00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:03,520
as the master of the harvest, as
the master of the harvest moving

575
00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:05,760
around. 
Pray there for what? 

576
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,360
The Lord of the harvest, they'd 
send forth laborers into his 

577
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:10,520
harvest. 
What do we do? 

578
00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,360
We got to do that together. 
We work that together. 

579
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:15,400
So we're to work. 
We're to work together. 

580
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:16,640
But also look at this number 
three. 

581
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,160
We're to work together wisely. 
We're to work together in 

582
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:23,080
wisdom. 
That's in verse #10 there's 

583
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:27,280
several layers of truth here in 
verse #10 that I want to just go

584
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,520
through briefly according to the
grace of God, which is given 

585
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,720
unto me as a wise master 
builder, I have laid the 

586
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,960
foundation and another bill that
they're on. 

587
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,480
But let every man take heed how 
he buildeth thereon. 

588
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:44,320
If we take everything together, 
this verse says Paul is saying 

589
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:48,080
God has given me the grace to be
able to build. 

590
00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,960
Why could Paul do what he did? 
He says God's given me the grace

591
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:56,240
to do so, but that grace allowed
him to build wisely. 

592
00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,520
Wise master builder. 
Now, do you think that's because

593
00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:00,000
he thought very highly of 
himself? 

594
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:02,720
I don't think so. 
I think it was because he knew 

595
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:04,560
the measure of grace that God 
had given him. 

596
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,600
He said the measure of grace 
that God has given me has 

597
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:09,520
allowed me to be a wise master 
builder. 

598
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,000
And you know what's amazing 
about this? 

599
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,720
As as he continues this 
conversation of Paul and 

600
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,080
Apollo's and Paul and of 
Apollo's, he says in verse #10 I

601
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,560
have laid the foundation and 
another buildeth thereon. 

602
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:24,000
So he's basically saying this, I
know that even though God has 

603
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,240
given me a grace to be a wise 
master builder, I also know this

604
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,600
there's going to be other people
that are going to be part of 

605
00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:33,840
this process as well. 
And So what I cannot be is 

606
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,640
someone who is jealous. 
What I cannot be as someone who 

607
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:42,080
is territorial, what I cannot be
as someone who is a Lone Ranger.

608
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,080
No, no, what I have to be is I 
have to be someone who realizes 

609
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:48,800
I may just set the foundation, 
but I got to set the foundation 

610
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,480
by the grace of God. 
Someone else might come along 

611
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:55,560
and actually do more of the 
work, but I still had a part in 

612
00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:56,600
him. 
You know, one of the things that

613
00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,560
can be so frustrating for a 
pastor is to be able to preach 

614
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,040
and to preach and to preach 
somewhere around, you know, 130 

615
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,640
a 140 messages a year, something
like that. 

616
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,080
And you feel like you cover the 
Bible from cover to cover and 

617
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:10,560
you feel like you cover 
everything. 

618
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,480
And you talk about all these 
topics and then some hotshot 

619
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,920
from out of town comes in for 
three or four days and he 

620
00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:18,800
preaches. 
And all of a sudden people say, 

621
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,640
I've never heard of that before.
I never. 

622
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:24,680
Heard anyone? 
Say it like that before. 

623
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,120
And that makes me want to say 
I've been saying it like that 

624
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:37,400
for 140 sermons this year. 
Pride, Arrogance on my part. 

625
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,920
In case you're curious who I'm 
talking about, listen, sometimes

626
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:45,440
we need a different voice. 
Sometimes we need someone else. 

627
00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:48,560
Or it could be that they were 
prepared to hear because I had 

628
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,320
laid a foundation, but someone 
else had built their own. 

629
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,000
Wouldn't it just be better for 
me to say, praise the Lord that 

630
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,400
someone got it? 
Praise the. 

631
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,920
Lord, that someone got saved. 
Praise the Lord that God used me

632
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,520
as a small part, however small 
or large that is. 

633
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:11,480
But here's the problem. 
You cannot be a wise minister, 

634
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,240
the wise minister that God's 
called you to be if you're a 

635
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,680
carnal Christian. 
No, no, this text that we're 

636
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,800
looking at tonight is not 
divorced from the rest of the 

637
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,560
chapter. 
Remember, Paul is coming to this

638
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,800
because he was talking about you
were carnal. 

639
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:31,680
You were carnal. 
I can't talk to you like you are

640
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:35,280
mature because you're carnal. 
I have to give you milk instead 

641
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:36,880
of strong meat because you're 
carnal. 

642
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:40,560
And then he goes into this as an
example because it goes back to 

643
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:45,000
chapter 1 as the very first 
prime number one illustration of

644
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,840
how carnal they were. 
So what we're talking about now 

645
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:51,240
is not divorced from the rest of
the Tets, the chapter, it all 

646
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,840
goes together. 
But what he's saying this is, 

647
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:59,960
is, is don't worry about how 
other people are building or if 

648
00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:04,040
they're building higher or 
bigger or better than you. 

649
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:12,679
Listen, you just built, you just
plant, you just water and let 

650
00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:18,679
God do what only God can do. 
Listen, you can't serve with a 

651
00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:22,400
crane neck and with an eye 
that's constantly looking at 

652
00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:26,639
what other people are doing 
because you can't see those that

653
00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:28,239
God has put right in front of 
you. 

654
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:33,520
The carnal Christian is not the 
servant that God has called him 

655
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,120
to be. 
Why? 

656
00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:38,159
Carnal Christians are servants 
that are jealous. 

657
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:44,040
They're servants that are petty.
They're territorial about their 

658
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,760
positions I've heard of. 
Churches where someone. 

659
00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:53,199
Has taught a Sunday school class
in a certain room for 10/20/30 

660
00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:56,760
years and the pastor will be a 
new pastor with new vision. 

661
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:59,640
Tries to move the Sunday school 
and then that Sunday school 

662
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,680
teacher says, well I've taught 
this class for 30 years and all 

663
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,360
of a sudden her favorite hymn is
I shall not be, I shall not be 

664
00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,720
moved. 
Like a tree that's planted by 

665
00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:12,440
the. 
Waters, I shall not be moved and

666
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,880
listen, we serve at the pleasure
of our Lord and Savior and 

667
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,000
listen, I'm not saying that the 
pastor is the Lord and Savior. 

668
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,880
I want to be very careful about 
there's only one Lord and 

669
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,800
Savior, but the same time God 
has given the pastor a position 

670
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,480
to be able to lead by God's. 
Grace through. 

671
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:33,160
His leadership and boy, we have 
to be careful by the way, this. 

672
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:35,360
Is why I'm very careful. 
Not to call this my pulpit. 

673
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,280
This is not my pulpit. 
Well, it belongs to you. 

674
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,720
It's got your name on it. 
Well, it said that I was the 

675
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:44,440
pastor when this was built and 
when this was dedicated to the 

676
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,120
church. 
But it's not my pulpit. 

677
00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:49,280
Why? 
Because it belongs to God. 

678
00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:54,320
This is not my church. 
You are not my people. 

679
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,360
I I don't go to to preachers 
meetings, say, well, yeah, my 

680
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:00,440
people back in Easton. 
Let me tell you about them. 

681
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:04,880
You know you're God's people. 
By the way, I I don't have 

682
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:06,080
enough to. 
Support all you people. 

683
00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,560
All right, So you, you are on 
your own, You know what I'm 

684
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:10,640
saying? 
No. 

685
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,600
You belong to him. 
This church belongs to him. 

686
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,760
This pulpit belongs to him. 
By the way, that piano doesn't 

687
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:20,840
belong to Diane, It belongs to 
him. 

688
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,800
That coffee pot, the last 2-3 
months, it may have seemed to 

689
00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:29,280
belong to me, but typically it 
seems to have belonged to 

690
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,240
Brother Vince. 
Don't belong to him. 

691
00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:35,960
That sound booth, Well, you 
know, it's the sound. 

692
00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:37,320
People, they're the ones back 
there. 

693
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,520
It doesn't belong to them. 
And listen, they could cut me 

694
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:45,600
off right now. 
People at home don't know what's

695
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,000
going on, all right? 
This. 

696
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,240
Is my seat. 
This is my parking spot. 

697
00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,000
This is where I do listen. 
Oh, that's so. 

698
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,840
Carnal that we. 
Can't be like that. 

699
00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:59,040
Listen, we're just ministers. 
We're servants. 

700
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,440
We plant and we water and then 
we water and we plant and we 

701
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:07,960
work and we work together and we
toil and we pray and we cry and 

702
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,160
we rejoice. 
And in the end we beg God to 

703
00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:14,600
give the increase and we realize
He is everything. 

704
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:17,600
We are nothing. 
And like John said, I must 

705
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,920
decrease. 
He must increase. 

706
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:26,720
There is no other option. 
But the carnal Christian it's. 

707
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:29,120
Always about. 
Mine. 

708
00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:33,520
My territory, my jealousy don't 
encroach on what I'm doing. 

709
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,600
They want to be seen. 
They don't want to share the 

710
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:37,760
spotlight. 
They want to steal the glory 

711
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,160
that God that belongs to God and
God alone. 

712
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:45,760
And the irony is that those 
carnal servants typically don't 

713
00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:50,240
even have much of anything to be
able to show off if they wanted 

714
00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:53,040
to, because that. 
Which they do is so. 

715
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:56,880
Tainted by their own self will 
that. 

716
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,760
There's really nothing there. 
That's glorifying to God. 

717
00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:03,880
It's a testimony to them and to 
their fleshliness. 

718
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,720
And we're going to see later on 
in First Corinthians chapter 3 

719
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,520
that the judgment seat of 
Christ, it's going to burn in 

720
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:16,040
fire and it's going to be gone. 
Carnal Christians don't make 

721
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,880
good servants. 
But here's what I do want to 

722
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:21,560
say. 
To you, and we'll be done here 

723
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:26,120
in just a moment. 
The irony of what Paul is 

724
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:30,240
writing here is he is writing. 
To carnal Christians, he's 

725
00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:31,320
writing. 
To Corinth. 

726
00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:36,160
Who are quite carnal and quite 
worldly and quite fleshly. 

727
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:39,160
And look again at. 
What he says in verse number. 9 

728
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:43,320
for we now who's. 
The we here you. 

729
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,520
Could argue that it's Paul and 
Apollo's, but I don't believe 

730
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,920
it's just the two of them we. 
Our. 

731
00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:53,840
Laborers together with God. 
What is he saying? 

732
00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:58,320
Even you carnal Christians, you 
have been called to be 

733
00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:00,960
ministers. 
So what does that mean? 

734
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:03,480
Well, I just need to minister 
carnally. 

735
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:09,160
No, Get right with God. 
Because a carnal Christian. 

736
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:13,120
Is the worst kind of billboard 
for Jesus Christ. 

737
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:15,920
I'm not saying you have to be 
perfect. 

738
00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:19,200
None of us are this side of. 
Heaven. 

739
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,560
But I will say this, if you have
habitual sin in your life that 

740
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:25,600
you refuse to be able to 
confess, I will say this. 

741
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,720
You can't minister for Jesus the
way you think you can. 

742
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,640
It's not my words. 
It's his words, don't be carnal,

743
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,080
but yet he's called us still to 
be ministers even while we're 

744
00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,160
carnal. 
What does that mean? 

745
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,680
To continue to minister in our 
carnality? 

746
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,560
No, get right with God. 
There's something really 

747
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:53,960
interesting. 
Here in verse number, verse #10.

748
00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:57,320
Actually, no. 
Back in verse #9 My. 

749
00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:00,120
Apologies for we are laborers 
together with God. 

750
00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:03,400
Ye are God's husbandry. 
Ye are God's building. 

751
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,560
So. 
When it says. 

752
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:09,560
Ye are God's. 
Husbandry, ye are God's 

753
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:11,760
building. 
He's talking about the 

754
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:16,560
Corinthians, but he also just 
said we are laborers together 

755
00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:18,840
with God. 
So he's saying. 

756
00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,560
This. 
He says you are the workers, but

757
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:28,960
you are also the work. 
You are the ministers, but you 

758
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:35,160
also need to be ministered unto.
Well, I just don't. 

759
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:37,760
Know if I'll ever be the right 
kind of worker, pastor. 

760
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:39,640
I don't know if I'll ever be the
right kind of minister. 

761
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,280
I, I, I've, I've done some 
things I shouldn't have done. 

762
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:47,560
I've wasted a lot of time. 
I just don't think I have the 

763
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:52,000
skills that are necessary. 
Could I encourage you that you 

764
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:57,120
can still be a worker while 
God's doing a work on you, That 

765
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:01,600
you can still be a minister 
while God is doing ministry in 

766
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:04,440
your heart as well? 
Now, you can't rebel against 

767
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,520
God. 
Listen, you rebel against him. 

768
00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:10,120
But I'm talking about you're 
just trying your best day by 

769
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:13,200
day. 
By the grace of God, he'll work 

770
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:15,520
with you. 
He'll help you. 

771
00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:21,960
When I was first saved, 16 years
old, originally, my parents 

772
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:23,760
didn't let me go to a Baptist 
Church. 

773
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:25,560
And so it was about a couple of 
years till I actually got 

774
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:29,560
baptized and was able to go to 
Westgate Baptist Church there in

775
00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:31,920
Tampa. 
But I've told you before, I 

776
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:37,160
wanted to do everything. 
I wanted to do everything and I 

777
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,920
remember that if it was outreach
and they had outreach on Tuesday

778
00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,760
and on Saturday, I went on 
Tuesday and I went on Saturday 

779
00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:44,000
because on Saturday we did 
buses. 

780
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:45,520
Tuesday nights we went and made 
visits. 

781
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:48,560
I went to every activity that I 
could find. 

782
00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:49,880
I told you, it's not even a 
joke. 

783
00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:52,720
I went to one of the old 
people's activities once because

784
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:54,960
and they're like, oh, he's so 
cute, you know, all that. 

785
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:57,440
And you know, I got free food. 
So that worked out really well. 

786
00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:00,000
I just want to do whatever I 
could. 

787
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,480
And I was ministering, but you 
know what I realized now I look 

788
00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:08,680
back, is it as much as I thought
as I was ministering, there was 

789
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:09,960
a. 
Lot more being poured into. 

790
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:13,480
Me than what I was giving out. 
I may have given out very 

791
00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:16,080
little, but they poured a whole 
lot into me. 

792
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,560
You know, you may come on 
Saturday, say I don't really do 

793
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:22,000
this kind of thing. 
I've never. 

794
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,360
Done this before. 
Could I say something to you 

795
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:27,520
without being bold or brash? 
And I hope you understand my 

796
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:30,720
heart, Would you? 
Let me pour into you. 

797
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,760
Some things that I've learned 
and some other. 

798
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,720
People here who have. 
Learned some things over the 

799
00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:39,600
years and you know why I. 
Can't I don't say that. 

800
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:43,480
Boldly or brashly, because 
whatever I have learned was 

801
00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:46,720
because someone years ago poured
into me. 

802
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:50,120
And by the way, in case you're 
still not sure, God's still 

803
00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:53,480
working on me today. 
And you know, the irony of what 

804
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:57,640
I just said is also this is it 
could very well be that I go out

805
00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:01,040
with someone on Saturday that is
very inexperienced, but they end

806
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:05,680
up teaching me a few things 
about zeal that maybe I've lost 

807
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:08,000
about. 
A love for. 

808
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,880
Souls that maybe is diminished. 
What I'm saying is this, when 

809
00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,040
you minister, you should also be
ministered unto. 

810
00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,920
When you work, there's work 
that's still being done to you. 

811
00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:26,320
We are God's laborers, but then 
also ye are God's husbandry. 

812
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,720
Ye are God's building saying 
this. 

813
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,800
You're the work and the worker. 
You're the minister and the 

814
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,840
ministry. 
Listen, if you think I, I, I 

815
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,200
can't do it. 
I just, there's not not much in 

816
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,480
me making my answer is you're 
right. 

817
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:46,760
You give it to the Lord. 
You allow other people to do a 

818
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:49,880
work in you and believe it or 
not, someday you'll be able to 

819
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:53,280
pour into other people just as 
you have been poured into. 

820
00:43:53,720 --> 00:43:57,080
And guess what? 
You can plant, you can water, 

821
00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,960
but God will give the increase 
and God will get glory. 

822
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:06,560
But there is no planting, there 
is no watering, there is no 

823
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:08,680
increase. 
And it's not. 

824
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:09,920
Because God. 
Can't. 

825
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:15,120
It's because God has put this 
very principle into place that 

826
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:19,360
if we don't plant and we don't 
water, then God is under no 

827
00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:23,000
obligation to give us increase. 
I'll say this and I'll be done. 

828
00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,120
We've got that beautiful sign 
out there. 

829
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:26,840
And I've said this for years. 
People don't come to Liberty 

830
00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:28,040
Baptist Church because of a 
sign. 

831
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,240
And that's typically not, that's
typically true. 

832
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:32,800
Every once in a while there's an
exception. 

833
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:35,920
You know why normally people 
come? 

834
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:41,080
Because we plant and we water 
with the people we meet and then

835
00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:43,760
God gives the increase. 
So what do we do? 

836
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:48,280
We get right, get to work, and 
go. 

837
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:52,160
Minister, thank you for 
listening to the sermon from the

838
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:53,960
pulpit of Liberty Baptist 
Church. 

839
00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:57,600
If this message was a blessing 
to you, or if there's any way we

840
00:44:57,600 --> 00:45:00,720
can serve you, please let us 
know by contacting us at 

841
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:05,600
info@mylibertybaptist.org. 
Or you can visit us this Sunday 

842
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:09,520
at 800 Washington St. in Easton,
MA. 

843
00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:12,560
May the Lord bless you as you 
grow in His Word.