Entering Into Their Labors

Well, brethren, here we are once again. We're walking through the count up to the Feast of Pentecost, as the Bible shows us. We count 50 days to that feast, tomorrow after the seventh Sabbath, from the designated time. That falls within the days of Unleavened Bread. And we're on this count, and here we are today at day 35. And as we're looking towards that festival of God, our minds, I would say, naturally begin turning towards the meaning of the harvest seasons that God has built into His Holy Day plan. Indeed, God's plan of salvation for all of mankind is built around harvest.

But not harvest of grain, necessarily. That is the type and the symbolism we understand, but points ultimately to the harvest of humanity that God has purposed. And we understand that there is an early harvest and a latter harvest within the Bible. But Pentecost especially reminds us that the work God is carrying out is not random. It's not aimless. It's not without purpose. In fact, He's busy today working, laboring, producing what it is that He is seeking to produce to carry out a harvest. In John 5 and verse 17, I'll just quote it for you. John 5 verse 17, Jesus stated, And so it's an effort, one that both of them have engaged in towards the eventual salvation of all of mankind. Certainly all who would choose and desire to be a part of this relationship God has created them for.

Now through that work, God is calling firstfruits today. People like you and me. People whom He has harvested out of the world through His calling, through setting them apart by baptism and giving them His Holy Spirit. He is calling these firstfruits today. He's preparing such a people for the incredible future of reigning in His kingdom alongside Jesus Christ.

And indeed, this time that we would readily call the Church Age, maybe that's Church Speak, but the Church Age, essentially the time from Jesus' first coming when He established in the Church to the time of the future return of Jesus Christ, bracketed in there is what we would call the Church Age, is the time of the spiritual harvest of firstfruits.

Over and over, the Bible uses harvest language. It talks about sowing and planting and tending and watering and caring for crops and indeed reaping a harvest. And those words are used to describe the work of God and the people that God is using to carry that work forward.

Indeed, the Bible shows there is a harvest taking place today. So I'd like to begin in John chapter 4, because here we find Jesus revealing important lessons about the spiritual harvest as well as the laborers who are involved in that harvest.

John chapter 4, and let's begin in verse 34. Hear the words of Jesus Christ.

John chapter 4 and verse 34, Jesus said to His disciples, He says, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Jesus says, This is what sustains Me, to do the will of My Father, to do the work that He has sent Me to do.

Verse 35, Do you not say, There are still four months? And then comes the harvest. Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest. Understand the fields Jesus is referring to, and it's likely they were surrounded by agriculture there, but the fields He's referring to were not the crops of grain surrounding them. He was referring to the crops of humanity, the harvest of humanity, that God indeed was creating, a crop of people ready to receive the gospel message, ready to be harvested out of this world.

And so, again, this was His focus, pointing to the harvest. Verse 36, He says, And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. So now He's focusing on the workers, those who would go into the field, those who would tend, those who would work in the harvest that the fields were prepped for, those who would go out and, again, tend that crop.

Ultimately His disciples there, but also ultimately as it comes down to you and I today, and the work of the church in the world. Verse 37, He says, For in this the saying is true, one sows and another reaps. He says, I sent you to reap for that which you have not labored. He says, Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors. What He was helping them to understand is that this work of a harvest was ongoing. This wasn't just a snapshot or a moment in time.

When you talk about lifting up your eyes and looking and seeing fields white for harvest, you're saying the crop's ready to be brought in. Well, somebody had to come along beforehand. You don't talk to Dale and Laura. What happens to bring a crop to the point now it's ready for harvest? Somebody had to go work the fields. Somebody had to drill in the seed.

Somebody had to water. Somebody had to tend. And eventually then there was a crop that is ready to be harvested. So this isn't just a single snapshot moment in time. Jesus is saying God's work is ongoing, and it stretches across time, and even across generations of laborers. Jesus said some laborers had come before the disciples, in fact, in an effort. And he said others would come after them. But in this moment of time was their time and place and their moment to enter into what it was that they would do, what they would give their lives to in participating in the harvest.

It's a work that has some laborers planting seed, some laborers going out and watering those seeds, some tending the crop that springs up, others following along to the harvest of the fruit that is produced, but ultimately all participate in the same work. And this is important to understand. All participate in the same work under the same plan of God. He said to the disciples, in your moment, look up. There's work to be done in your day.

But people have labored before you. People will labor after you. And indeed it is what has come down to us even today. Jesus said much in these few verses, but there's one statement I'd like to focus on specifically through the message today, and it's found in verse 38 where Jesus said, Others have labored and you have entered into their labors.

I believe it's a statement that should produce humility, brethren, and each and every one of us, because it reminds us that none of us originated the spiritual work that we are involved in today. None of us founded the truth. Actually, we have the truth. This is the Word of God. It's the foundation of knowledge, but the truth comes from God.

It does not come from us. The gospel message comes from God. It does not come from us. The crop, if you were to look out and say it's white for harvest, somebody was there before you doing a work. It did not originate with you. And so there is a humility, I believe, in this passage that reminds us that none of us built the foundation we have received, but we carry forward indeed in these labors.

The title for my message today is, Entering Into Their Labors. It's what the disciples did in the day of Christ, and it is what you and I have been called to do today as the Church of God in this age, carrying forward with the work that He gave us to do. As we approach the day of Pentecost, brethren, it's important for us to recognize that we are part of an ongoing line of laborers too.

Long before we were called, long before any of us ever stepped on the scene, there were others sacrificing, there were others preserving truth. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke about the fact that we are not a new church. You know, you may be able to go find a corporate start date to our organization, but we are not a new church. We are a continuation of the church Jesus established and goes back to the beginning.

And we believe that as we teach, as we live, as we carry out the work, we are continuing forward in a cycle of something that began long before any of us ever came along. You and I are beneficiaries.

We're receivers in what has come before us, and yet we are also participants in this day and age. And indeed, what happens in the work of the church to the world as it goes forward.

In a similar manner, then, as the church is a continuation of what Jesus founded, the work is a continuation, and we are a continuation of the ongoing line of spiritual laborers whose work began long before we ever stepped into the fields. You know, the Church of God today is in a very unique place, I would say, in history in the last hundred years of the church.

And let me just say, I'll say here in the United States specifically, but the last hundred years of the church has probably been the best time in terms of physical prosperity, physical peace, an opportunity to reach out and to do a work. Read the book of Acts. Read through the history of the church. See the persecution. See the scattering. See the drama, frankly, that was in their life, because they did embrace the calling of God. Those things are coming again, but indeed we are in a unique window of time and place where I do believe God has blessed us with an opportunity to reach out in this work and in this harvest in a way that really hasn't existed in the history of the church.

And sometimes the question is, what do we do with that blessing we've been given? But again, we have inherited something. We've inherited an understanding that others fought to preserve. We've inherited congregations that others helped establish. You know, aside from Darla and Dale, I'm trying to think, you know, I'm thinking back to our Spokane 50th anniversary was a while back. But other than Darla and Dale, there's no big group of foundation members, charter members, of these congregations in this area.

Okay, so at some point all of us walked along and into door to a functioning congregation that by God's blessing had been raised up. For me, others pastored before I came. For you, others served in capacities that you're serving in today before you ever walked in the door. And we are recipients of that blessing. We inherited examples of endurance and sacrifice and faithfulness that are someone else's. And now our generation is entered into that same ongoing work. And again, the Bible describes it as a spiritual harvest.

When Jesus spoke these words in John 4, his disciples were stepping into a labor already underway as well. You might think, well, who was before them? Well, we have a good portion of the Bible, right? That is before them. Consider the prophets. Prophets, prophesiers, people who pointed to what God would do. By God's inspiration, they laid a spiritual foundation and a groundwork for the coming Messiah. Who he was, what he would fulfill, what God was doing through him. And so in that way, the seeds have been planted. John the Baptist had come preparing the people as well, did he not, through a message of repentance and baptism, softening their heart, indeed, in advance then of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that he would make. And of course, Jesus himself was also laboring. And so now the disciples are being invited into that ongoing work. In fact, the ground was already prepared, the seed was already planted, and Jesus was sending his disciples out into those fields of humanity to begin harvesting what was produced. The fruit that had come forward in the work that ultimately God was doing. And it's the same work that continues through the Church of God today. One generation sows. Okay, because we have the scope of what Jesus said, you entered into their work, into their labor. This is generational, generation across generation. And one generation sows the Word. Another waters, another reaps, yet they all labor together in the same harvest. Oh, the laborers may change. The laborers may come and go. Generations may come and go, but the work remains the same. The harvest remains the same. And I would say the master sower remains the same. And indeed today, even the fields are white for harvest.

The recent General Counsel Conference of Elders in Cincinnati is, as I said, Darla and I were there last weekend. And for me, that's always an encouraging time because you get to spend time together, converse with other ministers, other elders who are serving around not only our region, but around the world. Indeed, it's an international work and it's a time to encourage each other, to learn from one another, to lean on one another as well in various ways. And so those conferences are always very encouraging for me. And as we were there this year, it was a clear reminder that this principle of entering into the labors of others, it's ongoing today.

We're a multi-generational church. I'm maybe sort of in the middle of the pack, maybe getting a little forward from the middle of the pack. But you know, there's ministers quite a bit older than me, there's ministers quite a bit younger than me, there's members quite a bit older than me, with years more of experience and maturity than I have. There's very, very young individuals as well in our congregation, so we're multi-congregational or multi-generation in our congregations. But at the GCE, as I looked around the room, I saw many of these older individuals who have served faithfully for decades, and you would know their names. There was a recognition ceremony on Saturday evening to recognize essentially milestones of years of service, and so they started with 10 years of service in the ministry and went up from there. We had recognition of those who were 50 years in the ministry, and we even had 60 years in the ministry.

Bob Dick. We know Bob Dick from the Northwest. Bob Dick and his wife Diane, 60 years serving in the ministry, laboring in the fields. Of course, Mr. Dick's retired, but you don't stop being a minister. You don't stop serving. And I'm grateful for his years of support to the ministry in the Northwest, as frankly, there has been a transition from older ministers to younger ministers over the years.

And Mr. Dick has been a steady voice of encouragement all throughout that process. Fred Kellers, honored for 60 years of service in the ministry. And you know, for Darla and I, it was an honor. We were invited to sit at Mr. Kellers' table because we have a connection. Fred Kellers was the senior pastor for Nigeria years before I ever arrived on the scene.

And you know, one of the stories I enjoyed telling at the table to those who were around is the fact that Fred Kellers is credited, as I would put it, for kicking open the door of visiting and travel to the brethren in Nigeria. Go back decades. You would have, even back into our previous affiliation, you would have people that would fly in from headquarters. They would arrive at the airport. They would be transported to the hotel on the Sabbath. They would go stand in front of the congregation, give a sermon, be whisked back to the hotel, and fly out. But Fred Kellers came on the scene. He visited during the spring holy days and passed over in the days of 11 bread. And one evening, it's the night to be observed, and he's in the hotel, and he's like, am I just going to sit here alone? And so a bold young man, who was actually later reprimanded for his actions, but a bold young man by the name of Olu Dari Akimbo invited Fred Kellers over to his home for the night to be much observed. And he was like, you don't just do that. You know, maybe not to the leaders who were local there, but it's like, hey. So this opened the door to Fred now getting out, traveling, traveling on the road, visiting the congregations, visiting the members in their home in Nigeria, and interacting with them on a very, very personal level. And frankly, what he did and the labor he started carries forward today, indeed in my service there, in how I serve. But again, somebody had to step into that role and open the way. And now, as years later, by comparison, a younger man, I come in and I have entered into his labors. And I'm blessed and I'm benefited, as are the brethren, by what it is that he pioneered in his day. So these things are a blessing. Many long-time faithful laborers have spent a lifetime serving God's people, traveling, counseling, preaching, encouraging, and quietly carrying burdens that most people will never fully see or frankly understand. And yet they're there, those who are still with us. But again, many, many long-time ministers, many others who are there, have since retired. Some are getting quite elderly, if I can be frank. Strength is diminishing. Even faculties in some way are diminishing, but they have labored through the heat of the day. Others, as we would have tribute to elders and wives, have died over the course of this last year in their service. There's a number of retirements lining up for the next one to three years. And you know what? Each have a story they can tell about the labor they entered into, about the planting and the tending and the watering and the reaping.

And some of us are here as a result and consequence of their work. And they may not be able to labor in the fields in the heat of the day as they once did, but the labor continues. And others, by God's blessing, have come along and be able to step into and continue their labors. And so for me, I found that personally encouraging as I looked around. You know, I also saw something else at those meetings that gave me great encouragement. I saw a number of younger ministers as well. There was a point when I was ordained that I was either the youngest or the second youngest elder in the United Church of God. Of course, the white hair came in the beard and that's changed, right? I'm kind of middle of the pack now. And we have a number of younger men that have stepped into this service. And frankly, I find that incredibly encouraging. Men and their wives were stepping into greater and greater areas of responsibility. Individuals have been preparing themselves to assume roles that are being handed off, frankly, by those who are retiring. The head of media and communication services is a younger man. You know, Scott Delameter. A number of you know Scott and Michelle Delameter by comparison to Peter Eddington, who has retired. Now, he's a younger man. Yet he is very competent. He is very on the ball, I would say, with what he's looking to carry forward with in the media department. Younger men have been appointed to the Council of Elders. As I said, Andy Lee, Benjamin Light, serving on the Council of Elders here for the next three years. Younger men are assuming roles of notable responsibility in ministerial member services.

Now, Steve Myers is the head of MMS, and he probably has... not probably... one of the most weighty jobs in the church. And, frankly, he needs help. And it's been made known he needs help. So now, other roles have been developed within MMS, and there's individuals who will be staffing those. So, we have then Mr. Stephen Britt, who will be taking over the member side of MMS. And maybe you don't realize all that that encompasses. You know, that's youth camps, that's fee sites, that's congregations, that's member needs, that's assistance, that's all these things that are overseen. He'll answer to Mr. Myers, who's still the overall head, but someone stepping in to assume a role. Ben Light, as well, has taken on a new role in MMS, as he will step in as the senior international advisor, essentially, over the international work of the church. And all this was under the umbrella of one man, and it was a heavy load. My point being is, you have the next generation that are stepping in, that are entering into the labors, and indeed, carrying forward with those things. Ben has traveled with me to West Africa, he's been to South Africa, Mexico, and many parts of the world in service, and so I believe he's well qualified for that position. And I'm excited, you know. Where else, other than the church, can your assistant become your boss? And you are happy. You know, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled. Instead of saying, hey, Ben, what do you think? Can you give me some advice on this? I can say, okay, Ben, what should we do? And he can now give an answer. I can joke tongue in cheek, but again, the point is, the labor is there, and the need to go out and work in the harvest is there. And generations come, and generations go, but it is still the work of God. You know, this is a pattern of evidence that you see all throughout the Bible. God working through successive generations. Let's consider Joshua for a moment. Joshua chapter 1 and verse 1. It says, So, you know, we maybe could infer by this. There's a mentor-mentee relationship going on between Moses and Joshua now, as he's preparing to step in and assume this leadership role. Verse 2, Moses says, Now therefore rise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. It says, From the wilderness and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the great sea, toward the going down to the sun, shall be your territory. Okay, it's the area we would call the Promised Land. Verse 5, Be strong and of good courage, he says, For this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. Verse 8 says, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Okay, so here we see Joshua inheriting responsibilities that he did not originate.

Right, God raised up Moses to bring the people out of the land of Egypt. Originally, he was supposed to lead them into the Promised Land. But as we know, they took a 40-year detour around the wilderness.

But Moses led them out of Egypt through the Red Sea up to the brink of the Promised Land. And now they're back after 40 years to the brink of the Promised Land. Joshua did not originate that work, but he was stepping into it. He was stepping into a leadership role where the foundation had already been laid through decades of labor and sacrifice. And yet he still had work to do. The work wasn't done.

They weren't settled in the land. Indeed, God said, you will lead my people forward.

God didn't tell them to create a different mission. He didn't say, we're doing something new here, Joshua. God told him to continue faithfully in the work already underway, again, to bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land. And yet we know Joshua was a different man. He wasn't a carbon copy of Moses. He had different characteristics, maybe different leadership skills, different personality. Yet God raised him up to carry forward. The thing that remained the same was the God who was leading them, and the word he gave him to live by, and the structure by which they would carry forward. But again, another man would lead under God's direction into the land.

Same principle matters for us today because we're witnessing a steady transition inside the United Church of God as responsibility is being passed from one generation to another. And at times we can look at transitions like this with a degree of anxiety, maybe a degree of uncertainty at times.

But the Bible shows that God continues his work through such transitions. And this is part of what I want to nail home as well, is that you are entering into a labor, but God, who is the source of the work, the director of the work, the one who is accomplishing his will and purpose, remains the same.

Elijah's work continued through Elisha, and the Apostle Paul's work continued through Timothy, who then carried forward. Older servants poured themselves into younger servants so that the work would continue faithfully after they were gone, generation after generation. Psalm 145, verse 4, puts it this way. It says, You know, it's not just about leadership. It can involve leadership, but it's everybody, generation by generation, telling the stories.

You know, how did God call me out of the world? What is it that he's done in my life that has truly impacted the way I live? You know, we tell these stories, we pass them on generation by generation, and this is a pass-it-on proposition. Let's notice the final letter the Apostle Paul wrote before his death. Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1. Here Paul is nearing the end of his life, not because physically he was ailing, but he knew his time was at hand. Here he's in prison, and shortly he'll be delivered up for death. Sometimes it's good to go through the Bible and read some of the final thoughts of these servants of God and what it is they wanted to convey at the end of their lives.

Second Timothy, chapter 2 and verse 1, he says, "'You therefore, my son,' again writing to Timothy, a much younger man, by the way, now a pastor in Ephesus, it would seem. He says, "'You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.' And he says, "'In the things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.'" So we notice the progression here.

Paul says, "'You heard it from me.'" And of course, we know Paul was educated at the feet of Gamaliel. Very good education of the day, at least Jewish education of the day. But he was educated as well by Jesus Christ. Struck down on the road to Damascus, and Peter spent two years in Arabia being taught by Jesus Christ directly.

So he says, "'The things you have heard from me are the places,' he said, "'that which I received from the Lord.'" So that's the source. But he says, "'You, Timothy, commit these to faithful men who are able to teach others also.'" And with that teaching would be then to pass it on to other faithful men who can teach others also, a continuation on down through time. That's continuity. It's continuity. It's a passing of the baton of truth and work across generations.

It's entering into the labors of others, those who have gone before and labored through the heat of the day and perhaps no longer have the strength or ability or even life left.

But the service is passed and the work continues, and there is a continuity to these things. On the flip side, the faithful younger servants also understand that they're not called to replace the spiritual foundation they receive. They're called to continue in it, to uphold it, to defend it, and to build upon it faithfully. But it doesn't mean that every detail of the function of every new person is going to be a carbon copy of the one before them. The work will carry on. There'll be perhaps different personalities, new ideas, fresh perspective. I always appreciate when somebody younger than me comes along and it's like, wow, that's a sharp young man.

That's a sharp young woman. And maybe even at something in technology. I kind of like to think I'm sort of riding the wave of technology, but the fast is, I'm getting left behind.

And my children and people coming after them, you know what? There's ideas, there's perspective, there's concepts of how do we take the same work and the same gospel to the world in a way that we've never done before. Again, those are matters of continuity. As such, the truth, though, will always remain the truth. The gospel, the message we teach will always remain the gospel. The work of the church to plant, to tend, and to harvest will remain the work of the church for as long as we have strength.

And of course, as Paul also taught, it is God who gives the increase. Of course, that's the key. That's always the key. It is God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Lest we think it's all about us. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and beginning in verse 1, Paul says, In brethren I could not speak to you as two spiritual people, but as two carnal, as two babes in Christ. He's writing to a church.

People that have God's Spirit. People who are supposed to be exercising these things, but there's a problem here. Verse 2, he says, I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. And you might say, what's going on? Why? Well, verse 3, he says, For you are still carnal, for where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, for you not carnal and behaving like mere men. So there was a situation here going on in the Corinthian church, where people were actually holding up in competition the men who had brought them the Word of God.

And one said, well, I'm for this guy. The other said, well, I'm for this guy. Servants who brought the Word, who instructed them, who helped to bring about an understanding of what God is doing. And Paul says, you know what?

This is a very carnal argument. I have to speak to you as babes. Verse 4, he says, For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? You know, the ministry's job is to point people to God and to His Word, not to themselves. As helper of their joy, which is what a minister's responsibility is, there are going to be close relationships. You know, I hope there's close relationships among us that develop over time.

I'm here as your pastor, but I hope I'm also here as your friend and your brother in the faith. Okay, so there's going to be relationships, but this is not a relationship of holding up one man's arms over another. There was actually here in Corinth a following after a man personally that was taking place, and Paul was contending with that behavior. Notice what he says in verse 5, And that's the point. God gave the increase. As a minister, you're there as a messenger. You're not the message.

You're not the message. What God is doing, He's allowed the ministry to participate in, but it is very much about what God is accomplishing in the spiritual life of an individual. As a minister, my responsibility is to help instruct, to encourage, to come alongside if there's some way that I can help you, to point you to God and to point you to His word, and understand I don't bring the spiritual increase. It is God who gives the increase. And so when we understand these things, we understand that a laborer is there for a purpose, and they have their place, but it's not about the laborer. It's about the God who sent them, and the God who desires a working relationship with the people He has sent them to. God gives the increase. And you know what? This is an incredibly humbling passage when you think about it. After all, what did Paul say? Paul says, you're nothing. I'm nothing, Paul says in the ministry. Right? He says, for who is Paul? Verse 5. Who is Apollos? The ministers through whom you believe. I planted Paul's water. God gave the increase. Verse 7. For then neither is he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

So again, one does his work faithfully, we pray. Right? He plants. Another does the work. He waters. But it's not about the planter, and it's not about the water. Those are required tasks, for sure. But what is produced is produced to the glory of God. And it is God who gives the increase. I believe that perspective is incredibly important during times of transition within the Church. Because sometimes people can become overly attached, certain personalities, certain laborers. I admit, I have certain ministers that are my favorite ones to listen to. I don't think that's wrong. I think we've been blessed with gifted teachers, and some will just naturally maybe connect with you in a certain way, more than some other way. Okay, that's God's gift. That's God's blessing. The man does his part, but look to God. Praise God. Thank God.

When that person is no longer on the scene, God will provide. And it's not that you're following a man, but they do encourage you to look to God.

But again, Paul redirects our focus back to where it belongs, back to the work of the harvest. Laborers do matter. Faithful service does matter. But no individual is the source of spiritual growth. God is, and he is the only one who gives the increase.

For me, a physical example that I've always just loved and just kind of cling to in my mind, it comes up, I don't know, probably once a month or so, is the disciples. You know, if we're considering us in the church, laborers in the church, we say, you know what, we have a professional at the helm of this department. We have a professional at the helm of that department. And if we get the equation just right, the floodgates all open, right? And the world won't be stampeding in our door. Well, how about a little perspective? Jesus Christ died. He was resurrected three days and three nights later. But here you had the disciples, right, the ones who had become the apostles sitting around. And Peter says, I go a-fishing. Right? And now they're, you know, what are we going to do? And so others with him say, we're coming to. Professional fishermen, right? Jesus said, follow me and you'll be fishers of men. They left their nets and they followed him. So professional fishermen. Peter says, I go a-fishing. So they get in the boat, they go out on the Sea of Galilee, says they fish all night and caught nothing. Professional fishermen, boats that they knew, nets that they knew, the lake and the currents and the fish runs that they knew. Professionally, they did it. Everything they should have, they caught nothing. Next morning, Christ is on the shore and he calls out to them and he says, do you have anything to eat? And they said, well, we've caught nothing. He says, cast your net over there. And they cast their net over there and they cannot even bring it in because of the load of fish. Right? Miraculous. Indeed, when I consider the work we have in the church and the people that we have in that place doing the work, they are important. The efforts are important. You've got to fish. You're not going to catch anything no matter what. Right? So you have to be doing your part, but it is always God who gives the increase. So let's be fishing and let's rely on God for what he does. Verse 8, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, it says, now he who plants and he who waters are one. I've underlined that word in my Bible, one. It's a beautiful, beautiful word of unity. It's what God and Christ are and it's what we are to be with them and one another in this work. And each one will receive his own reward according to his labor. So different laborers may have different responsibilities, different strengths, even different methods of carrying out certain tasks, but they're still working together in the same harvest as one. There should never be competition, jealousy, any of these things. We're working together in the same harvest as one. And you know what? There's a unity that springs forth when everyone remembers whose work it is.

Verse 9 says, Again, our presence here is all about what God is doing. So as we approach Pentecost and we're thinking about the harvest and the harvest season here of the firstfruits that God is carrying out, this passage reminds us that every faithful generation of servants has played a role within a much larger work that God himself is doing. Again, some planted, some watered, some reaped, but through every generation it was God who brought the laborers together, and it was God who gave the increase. Again, I was encouraged at the GCE as I looked around and saw the examples of the older individuals who we honored and the examples of younger ones who are coming along in place and desiring to serve as well. And I noticed the relationship as well between the two parties. That relationship matters as well. Older generations possess wisdom. You know, they've been through it a time or two. I'm trying to remember what the farmer's insurance commercial was. I think he said, we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. Is that not indeed someone with a lifetime of experiences, lessons learned through experience, through hardship, through perseverance? The younger generations bring a willingness and an energy to serve and to carry responsibilities forward into the future. The church needs both. I appreciate when both can come together. I appreciate the strength that is lent that goes both ways in this relationship. It's a relationship that should never be a source of tension between generations. Indeed, it should be a source of strength and gratitude as we carry forward in the work of the harvest. So pray for laborers, brethren. After all, that was Jesus' request. Pray for laborers. It's also Steve Meyers' request. He made it to us at GCE. He said, please, pray for laborers. We need them.

Luke chapter 10.

Luke chapter 10 and verse 1, Jesus Christ, says, I've told just about anyone who would listen that Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. Of course, my motivation is selfish. I say it because I want the nuffs to stay here forever. You know, two by two. Two by two is a great thing. Joe and I go out two by two all over the place. This week we went out two by two, and at one point we said, I said, you go that way, I'll go this way. Because the need was there and there. Okay, but Jesus sent them out two by two, and maybe one day we'll have the resources and the manpower to do that again. But for now we need laborers. Verse 2, Mr. Myers has encouraged the ministry to set their alarm on their phone for 10.02 a.m. every day. You may say, why 10.02? Well, Luke chapter 10 and verse 2, it's a reminder, pray today when that alarm goes off. Pray the Lord of the harvest for laborers in His harvest. Because the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few even today. But as we also see, coupled with all of this, the Lord of the harvest provides. And He will provide what it is that we need. There are men who have labored through the heat of the day, the wives alongside them, and they are lined up for retirement. And they're continuing to serve. You know, I spent time talking to a personal friend in the pasture that's 79 years old, and he's pastoring congregations. There's others in that ballpark as well. And they're looking for those who will come along and step into the labors of others just as they have. And God will provide what is needed as long as we submit ourselves to His work and not our own.

Finally, brethren, I want to point out that this is an ongoing spiritual harvest, and it's not a ministerial effort only. I've been kind of sharing some thoughts, some memories from the GCE, but this effort, this labor, is not a ministerial effort only. It is an entire church effort.

We're in this together. God has given every member a role within the harvest. While some may preach publicly, others faithfully support the work in ways that are just as vital to its success. All right? There's those who serve through encouragement, through hospitality, through laboring in ways that are spiritually needful, like prayer. You want to know one of the greatest people in the harvest? I would say our widows. Widows who are on their knees praying. Not much else they can do physically, but they're on their knees praying for you and for me. That's a spiritual work in the harvest. They're praying for what God is doing. They're praying for people who are new and walk in the door. There's financial support that people offer. We have co-workers who are not even part of the United Church of God that send in donations to the home office because they've received the literature, the magazine, they've seen the television program, and they say, this is a good work. We want to support it. As well, fellow laborers in what it is that we're doing. People support through technology, through writing, through our publications, through music, through local service. All that goes into our congregations locally. For caring for the brethren, for welcoming those who walk in the door.

This is all part of the work we are involved in. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12, no part is unnecessary. But right alongside that, no part carries the whole work alone. It's not about me. You know what? If none of you were here, I could get up in a dark room and talk to myself. If somebody wasn't at this table, I could talk and people, you know, they might see a picture, but hear no words.

We all play a part in this together, in the work that God is doing to bring a spiritually healthy and loving church environment where people can grow.

So as much as it depends on us, let's faithfully do our part as we labor together in this spiritual harvest. We're approaching the Feast of Pentecost. Again, a very important step in God's plan of salvation for mankind. It's important to remember that we are part of an ongoing line of laborers. God is using in his work. And indeed, some have come before you and I, and others will follow after you and I.

So what we do today matters greatly.

We may just be a link, right, along the way.

But let us be a strong link that supports and carries forward what has come before us and supports what will come after us. Through it all, let us never forget where the true increase comes from. Indeed, we are called to labor faithfully.

And we must labor faithfully.

And I'm encouraged by the examples of men and their wives who have labored faithfully for decades.

Let us do our part, but let us never forget whose work and whose harvest it is.

We do our part.

It is God who gives the increase.