MORE LABORERS FOR THE HARVEST
Matthew 9:35-38; Acts 18:18-28
Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell
First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI
July 8, 2007
It was a few years ago when I said it to him and we still laugh about it. When Doug Forsberg came to FPC to be our associate pastor, I tried to provide him with some encouragement. As we were looking at the workload for the summer, I said, “Things change around here a bit during the summer months. We don’t have Sunday school and things really do seem to slow down.” I should never have said such a thing! In spite of good intentions, that statement simply wasn’t true. It has never been true. Oh, some of the particular events change, but it never slows down. So, every now and then, we’ll look at each other, smile, and say: “When is it going to slow down?”
I wonder if Jesus ever felt this way. In fact, I’m sure He did. Matthew tells us of a time when we may surmise He did just that. This was a time when His ministry was becoming very busy. We are told that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” More and more people were arriving in need of such ministry … multitudes of them. In fact, Jesus became concerned that He could only do so much. “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Even though Jesus was empowered mightily as the Son of God, He could only minister as one Person to the crowds of people who were in such great need. That’s when Jesus said to His disciples in a teaching moment, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” More laborers were needed, and so Jesus told His disciples - and us – to pray for more workers.
I’m very familiar with this kind of prayer – I’ve prayed it often. Over the years, I’ve prayed for Sunday school teachers, Vacation Bible School directors, teachers and aides, elders, deacons, committee members, members of Nominating Committees, an associate pastor, church secretaries, sextons, missionaries and more. Perhaps it’s fair to say that you’ve done the same. The need for laborers in the work of the kingdom is always with us; it’s always prominent. And so we pray to “the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.”
Sometimes, we can leave it there at the throne of grace. But at other times, when we pray about this, a conviction comes over us that we may well be the answer to our own prayer! We may sense that God may be calling us to be that laborer in the Lord’s vineyard. What then are we to do?
As you pray about workers here at FPC or elsewhere, and the Lord convicts you that He wants you to serve, (and knowing that we’re all called to serve in some way), may I suggest to you that you follow the path taken by Apollos, the Jewish Christian from Alexandria. There are some wonderful attributes found in Apollos that can be helpful when we feel the call of God to be workers in a way that will make a tremendous difference in the church and in many lives, including that of our own.
I
FIRST OF ALL,
BE A PERPETUAL STUDENT.
Apollos was most certainly one who took learning and maturing seriously. We’re first told that Apollos was from Alexandria, which was a very large and populous city in Egypt. In that city, founded by Alexander the Great, there were many excellent schools of learning and quite a number of scholars. Apparently, Apollos took advantage of this opportunity. Living in a city of a million Jews, he also had “a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.” Furthermore, Apollos had learned from teachers, having “been instructed in the way of the Lord.”
When it became clear in Ephesus that he still had more to learn, Apollos also gladly listened to the teaching of Priscilla and Aquilla, “who invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” Apollos had all the resources he needed: schools, books, the Scriptures, teachers and the church, and he personally applied himself to use them. Now, if Apollos had all these resources available to him in the first century, what can be said of us?
Today, we have the Scriptures in many translations and with many study aids. As a matter of fact, my wife, in the way of an advanced birthday gift, gave me a new study Bible. It happens to be the sixth study Bible that I now have!
You and I also have the internet, Bible study software programs, Christian books and periodicals, CD’s and DVD’s. We have on-line classes and Sunday school classes, and guest speakers and regular preachers. Being a student is not all that difficult in light of all these resources. There is no limit toward our learning and growing in the faith. It simply goes back to the heart. If we have a heart for learning, we will do so, taking full advantage of all that God so graciously gives us.
II
SECONDLY, BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.
This is implied by our text regarding Apollos. Our text tells us that Apollos “spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately.” The verse literally speaks of Apollos being “fervent in spirit” or “fervent in (the) Spirit”. Now, Apollos clearly was a man greatly used by God. As an example, once he got to Achaia, Apollos “vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” He did so vigorously and powerfully, but not simply because of personality, temperament or gifts, but rather because of a fervency brought forth by the person and power of the Holy Spirit.
While it is true that our personality and temperament affect the way we relate to others, including in ministry, even so, all will be for naught unless and until we consciously seek the Spirit’s fullness in our daily lives. You will recall from Ephesians 5:18 that we are actually admonished to “be filled with the Spirit.” We are to keep on being filled with the Spirit by a conscious sense of need for His presence and power.
If there is known and unconfessed sin in our lives, we need to deal with it right away and put it at the feet of Jesus. If there is a deliberate failure to carry out the Lord’s instructions regarding a personal matter in our lives, then we need to confess that too. And if there is a sense of an “I can do it all alone” attitude prevailing within us, we need to give that up right away. “Apart from Me,” Jesus said, “You can do nothing.”[i]
Charles Swindoll, the noted pastor, Bible teacher and author, tells us in one of his books that he begins many a morning sitting at his bedside and praying in this way:
“This is Your day, Lord. I want to be at Your disposal. I have no idea what these next 24 hours will contain. But before I begin, before I sip my first cup of coffee, and even before I get dressed, I want You to know that from this moment on throughout this day, I’m Yours, Lord. Help me to be a branch that abides in the vine, to lean on You, to draw strength from You, and to have You fill my mind and my thoughts. Take control of my senses so that I am literally filled with Your presence and power and dynamic. I want to be Your tool, Your vessel today. I can’t make it happen. Without You I can accomplish nothing. And so I’m saying, Lord, fill me with Your Spirit today.” [ii]
The person who prays this kind of prayer in all sincerity and with integrity at the start of each new day will surely be used as the Lord’s tool, as His vessel!
III
AGAIN FROM THE WITNESS OF APOLLOS,
DISCOVER YOUR GIFT(S)
and FIND A PLACE IN WHICH TO USE THEM.
By personal experience and the confirmation of others in the church, Apollos found his giftedness and his calling to serve. The more Apollos learned, the more he wanted to share God’s truth with others. With that fervency given by the Holy Spirit, Apollos spoke to others of Jesus and of the Gospel, teaching passionately and accurately. As he did, an inner sense of confirmation was being given to him regarding the precise nature of God’s gifts and calling in his life.
But please note that there was more to this confirmation than that found only in Apollos. There was also outer confirmation found from the Body of Christ, the church. “When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia,” we are told, “the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.” What this tells us is that both inner and outer confirmation is required in the process of finding our gifts and using them.
Henry Blackaby is a name known to millions of Christians. This Southern Baptist pastor, church leader, teacher and author has written resources on “Experiencing God.” The workbook on this subject of knowing and doing the will of God has been sold at the number today of over 3 million copies! But Blackaby tells us that he began this project quite reluctantly.
At a Lay Renewal Conference where he had been one of the main speakers, a man leading devotions one morning asked everyone to get alone with God and “Ask God if there is anything He has been wanting you to do that you have not yet done.” Blackaby tells us that he did so and prayed a prayer of complete submission and willingness to be used by the Lord. In doing so, he had great peace of mind.
The very next day, a denominational leader came up to him and asked him to explain more fully what Blackaby had taught the other day regarding finding and doing God’s will. After spending an extended period of time together, the leader then asked him directly if he would put this teaching into a course that people could study. Blackaby was very uncertain about this, never having written professionally before and not knowing really what to do.
With a deep sense of hesitation and reluctance, Blackaby asked the denominational leader, “Do you clearly, unmistakably, undeniably feel I should write this?” The man then had the spiritual tenacity to reply, “I am convinced of God you should write this and I will help you.” [iii] With the help of thirty prayer intercessors as well as editors, this resource was finally completed and it has radically changed many lives, including some of you here this morning and that of my own. But it illustrates the need for inner and outer confirmation, as God opens doors to each of us for some form of ministry in the work of His kingdom.
***
Yes, God calls all of us to be His workers in some form or fashion. But as we hear this call, let us follow the path of Apollos:
to be a perpetual student and disciple,
to be filled with the Spirit,
and to discover and use our gifts
as God so leads in our lives and through the Body of Christ.