The Lord Builds the House
(Part 4)
Our Call to Enter into His Harvest
We have already seen that God, by His divine power, has given us everything we need in our personal lives to accomplish what we have been called to do. This is also true concerning the mission field of the culture God has prepared all around us. Look at John 4:35-38
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
We already have what we need to live out our personal spiritual lives and what we need in order to fulfill the calling of God to reach the culture around us. We must lift up our eyes to see the culture that needs the light of the gospel and the mission fields God has already prepared for us to enter. We have been examining the importance of being established in the word, building our foundation on Christ through obedience, having a heart after God and being a people of who are seeking the Lord so we can be teaching and responsive to God’s call. All of this is the preparation for our service in ministry so that we can become reapers who gather fruit unto eternal life. Preparation and spiritual disciplines have great profit in our spiritual lives, but this is not our reasonable service to God. Our heavenly reward is not for preparing for missions, but entering into God’s harvest and rejoicing in our labors together. I have spoken of this in the past but it is good to keep in remembrance of this important principle. Look at Luke 17:7-10
7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
On the surface this seems like a harsh statement. Why would Jesus tell us that after we have done the work we should not expect to be thanked or rewarded? For starters, God owes us nothing for our labors. There will never come a time in your life where you have labored and put God in debt to you. You were bought with a price and giving yourself to God as a living sacrifice is your reasonable service to Him. Consider these two passages:
1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
When you were without hope and lost in your own sins, Jesus redeemed you by purchasing your salvation with His own blood. He took your sins and all the debt that was against you and nailed it to His cross (Colossians 2:13-14). Jesus took on your sins and was credited with all your unrighteousness and credited to your account the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). If you owe God your life, what can you do to earn any reward? The answer is, “nothing”. When you have done the will of God, do not think you have done God a favor and expect to earn rewards for you have only fulfilled your reasonable service and done what was your duty to do. Even so, God has still given us exceedingly great promises and Jesus said that it is the Father’s pleasure to give you His kingdom. We are given an explanation in 1 Corinthians 9:16-17
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! 17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
The same thing that applies to the calling of the apostle Paul also applies to you and I. When we came to Christ, we laid down our lives and willingly received the new, eternal life created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18). Jesus compared our eternal life to a man who found a treasure in a field. For the joy of obtaining that treasure, he sold all that he had and bought that field (to gain that treasure). You have the right to keep your life, but when you come to Christ you are laying down your life and your right to hold on to it. Jesus said that anyone who desires to come after Him must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. The cross is the death of self – our selfish life in the flesh.
According to the Bible, if you do this willingly, God will reward you. According to Jesus those who serve in His work are rejoicing together. God owes you nothing but you owe Him everything. Willingly or unwillingly you are still required to fulfill your calling. Your wages are not based on how much you work but the attitude in which you serve. God loves a cheerful giver. This is true for our money and our service. Don’t expect God to reward you as you grumble and complain through your service. Consider Philippians 2:13-16
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
It is a command that all we do should be done without murmurings (complaining) or disputing. Only then can we truly have the anticipation of rejoicing in the day of Christ and that our labors are not in vain. Those who refuse to labor at all will be judged. Rebellion is ungodliness. In fact, the Bible compares rebellion to the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23). The apostle Paul made the statement, “woe to me if I do not preach the gospel… a dispensation has been delivered unto me”. The same applies to you and I. Our new life was created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).
God prepared our works before hand that we should walk in them. You have a calling of God and He has committed a mission and a ministry to your life. If you willingly serve with rejoicing, great is your reward; however, if against your will, you are still required to walk in obedience for you were bought with a price. Woe to us if we do not obey God’s call. Jesus foretold of the day when we will all give an account. Those who refused to do the Lord’s will can only look forward to judgment. Look at Luke 12:47-48
47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Both those who did not prepare themselves and those who knew the will of God are under condemnation. This study has been examining what it means to prepare ourselves to do His will. Living a life in ignorance of the word of God and the will of God does not exempt us from our responsibilities. That is the hard truth, but here is the good news – look at Luke 12:37, 42-44
37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
Are you a faithful servant? If so, great is your reward. The faithful man or woman is the one who is after the heart of God and seeks Him through prayer and the word. This prepares our lives for service which we faithfully perform with rejoicing. A grumbler, even if he does the task given is never considered to be faithful. Faithfulness is joyful obedience to our God who first loved us, gave Himself for us and we serve Him with joy, gladness and gratitude. God loves and rewards a cheerful giver and God rewards a willing doer. God builds the church through faithful men and women who keep the word and are founded upon the rock of Jesus Christ.
On this Rock I will build My Church.
Let’s look now at Matthew 16:
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
This is an often misunderstood passage. Many believe in error that Jesus was saying that Peter is the rock the church is built on. Peter understood what was being said and testified of this in his epistles to the church but the average Christian completely misses what is being stated by Jesus. First look at this passage in Psalm 18:30-31
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. 31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
The Lord is the only Rock and those who trust Him and are founded upon the Rock have a sure, unmovable foundation. Earlier in this study we looked at Jesus’ teaching about Himself when He declared that those who receive His words and obey them will be founded upon the rock which does not move even when the storms blow. So how does this apply to Jesus’ statement to Peter? Look at the introduction of Peter to Jesus in John 1:
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Peter’s original name was not Peter, it was Simon. Jesus called him Cephas or ‘a stone’. The name Peter means ‘a stone’. It is important to understand this in order to understand what Jesus is saying. The declaration to Peter is, “You are a stone and upon this Rock (Jesus Himself) I will build My church. Peter fully understood what Jesus was speaking of for he used this to illustrate the building of the church in 1 Peter 2:
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Rock and the cornerstone of the church. Like Peter, you are all stones built upon the cornerstone of Christ. Each one of us builds up the living house, the church of Jesus Christ. In order for the church to have a secure foundation, we must be built upon the Rock. Jesus must be the focus of the church. The church is built on this foundation that I quote frequently from Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I quote this regularly because it is the foundational commandment of the church. Without obeying this basic command, the church cannot be the church. If the church is not founded upon Christ, it is not the church. When local assemblies begin to depart from the Rock, they become dry and fruitless for Jesus said in John 15:5-6
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
There can be no fruit outside of Christ. Works is not fruit; numerical growth is not fruit; wonders and miracles are not fruit. We saw earlier that many will come to Jesus on the last day and claim to have done wonders in His name but He will command them to depart for they are workers of iniquity. During the time when God tries the world in what is known as the Great Tribulation, the Lord gives power to the workers of Satan to do great signs and wonders to deceive those who refuse the truth. Fruit are for everlasting life. To bear fruit is to accomplish the work of God in your own life and to accomplish the work of God to reach out to draw others into the Body of Christ. If you abide in Christ, you will bear much fruit; however, if you do not abide in Christ you will dry up like a withered branch. It is not possible to bear fruit outside of Christ for Jesus stated, that unless you abide in the vine of Christ you cannot bear fruit for without Him we can do nothing (John 15).
We must be founded upon the rock to do His work. Any work done outside of an abiding relationship with Christ is fruitless and has no eternal significance. Man can work hard and give the appearance of good works, but unless it is Christ producing fruit through us unto eternal life, it has no eternal significance.
I talked with a pastor who had a church that was doing well in numbers but he stated to me that he felt dry as a bone. He felt barren in his own spiritual walk and stated that he did not feel like God had spoken to him in a long time. He was reading all the best Christian authors and books that claimed to have the answers but he continued to descend spiritually until he quit the ministry. I have known and preached in many churches that are completely dry spiritually. Some were dwindling away in attendance and others had the numbers but had no life in the congregation. What is the answer to a dry spiritual life or a dead local church? The scripture explains that God pours life into us by His Spirit when we hold to His word. Look at these passages:
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
… 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
In Ezekiel chapter 37 the prophet is taken to a great valley of dry bones. They were completely dry, lifeless and had no hope at all. Yet God showed His power and revived this barren graveyard by one word – “Live”. God is able to speak life into any person’s dry soul and into any dead congregation by declaring, “Live”. The word of the Lord is powerful and no force on heaven or earth can hinder His will. The problem is that people are looking to everything but the word of the Lord and the God who redeemed them. Many years ago I went to a week long pastor’s conference with 125 preachers from all over the world. While I did not talk to every person, I did talk to many of these men. I was greatly surprised to find out that not one of these men prepared or wrote their own sermons. Each one was dependent on pastor’s helps, prewritten sermons, outlines already put together and other sources. Go into any Christian bookstore and visit the pastor’s resource section. You will find outlines prepared and ready to preach for every book and chapter of the Bible and volumes of ready made sermons. Can a pastor be fruitful if he is dependent on someone to prepare his messages for him? Consider this passage from Jeremiah 17:5-8
5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
I know teachers and preachers that do not trust the Lord to speak to them but will only teach what is taught by the ‘experts’. When I first began to preach, I looked out over the congregation and saw many who were more knowledgeable than I and I asked myself, “Who am I to tell these people what the Bible says?” In time I realized that question was flawed. It is not about ‘I’, it is about the word of the Lord.
One of the greatest decisions I have made in my life that has benefited my ministry is to quit looking to the experts for understanding. When I first began to preach, I imitated the methods of the other preachers I knew. To back up my doctrine, I would quote other well known theologians and the evidence for my position was the writings of other men. I tried to find out what the ‘experts’ taught and this became my safe and secure doctrine. Then I discovered this passage above and realized that anyone who put their trust in man was cursed, dry, and barren. I did not want to be a dried up shrub in the desert. I also realized that I was already becoming dry as I looked at others and tried to grow through the teachings outside of scripture. I still wrote my own sermons, but I drew my doctrine from men.
You or your church may be at this same point. Sometimes those in the desert do not realize how dry they really are until they taste the water. Here is the test. Look back at your life six months ago. Are you deeper in the faith and do you have more understanding today than you did six months ago? Are the members of your congregation showing more signs of maturity than they did six months ago and have more hunger for the word? Have you ever watched a tree die? A tree thrives and flourishes while it is growing, but when it stops growing, it begins to die. It does not die quickly, it just stops growing and even looks good for a while. Each year the tree looses more branches and produces less leaves until its life slowly wanes away. This is how most churches and Christians dry up. Like a dying tree, they can even still have the same size, but there is no real life. Jesus stated that unless we abide in Him, we will dry up and wither away. Sometimes we are slowly letting our relationship slip and do not even realize that we are withering away until we look up one day and recognize that we feel dry and our life seems barren.
If you are looking to a man as your spiritual vine, you will dry up. It may not be an immediate departing or barrenness, but we will be like a shrub in the desert and find ourselves in a dry and barren land if man is our hope, dependence, or our strength. The good news is that even if we are dry, the Lord can speak life into our dry bones and make us like a fruitful garden. I love this passage from Jeremiah for it speaks with such a wonderful description. Have you ever observed the trees during a bad drought? They begin to lose their leaves, they quit growing and many even die. Even during the worst droughts, what happens to the trees that are beside the rivers of water? They continue to flourish and don’t even notice the drought. This is how your life will be if you delight in the word of God and the Lord is your hope and confidence. The world around you and the church around you may be barren and dry, but you will continue to flourish in the Lord and will be like a watered garden as He fills your life with hope and meaning.
The word of the Lord is the lifeline for the Christian. If you stay in the word of God and keep it, you will flourish and will have life. Teaching and preaching play an important role in the church and in our lives, but it is not intended to be our lifeline of faith. We should be proclaiming the word of God with the mindset of teaching others how to seek the Lord, draw others into a deeper walk with the Lord, and continuously put others in remembrance of what is already known so that it does not slip from our focus. No one should ever become dependent on men for spiritual growth. Once we put our hope and trust in man, we are under the curse and cannot grow into a deep, abiding relationship with Christ. Once a pastor begins to draw disciples after himself, he is no longer the faithful overseer God will bless. The word of God is the focus of the scriptures and must be the focus of our lives.
God as promised to establish us and we claim that promise by turning from our own ways, seek His face, and pray. When we do so, God will revive any individual or any congregation. It is God who raises us up and He will do so when we seek Him and keep His word. No matter how dry the church is or how much we have fallen out of the way, God can say “Live” and we will be restored. His promise is to those who are faithful to His word. Claim His promises! Seek His face, turn from our own ways and He will restore us and work through our lives. Only then can we truly experience the richness of God. There is nothing more exciting than seeing God continuously transforming your life into His image. Each time you examine your life you will see how far you need to go, but you will also see how much God has changed you each time you look back. This should be and can be the encouragement that every Christian rejoices in each day. It is not possible to remain dry spiritually while you are experiencing God through His word.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
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