Labor Day

Labor Day

September 2, 2018 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: We must be involved in the work for God’s glory and His Kingdom!

Focus Passage: Matthew 9:35-38 (Pew Bible page 1121)

Introduction: Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend and it is considered the unofficial end of summer in the United States. It is recognized as a federal holiday. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day] Ironically, it is a day when laborers do not labor. As Christians, our work should not cease for the Lord, until Jesus returns or He calls us home, whichever comes first.

I. Bountiful Harvest

a. Local Harvest

b. Far-away Harvest

c. "Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. "Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this case the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor." (John 4:35-38 NASB)

d. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4 NASB)

II. Laborers are Few

a. Spiritual Laborers

i. Rely on the power of God

ii. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:23-24 NASB)

iii. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 NASB)

iv. But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." (John 5:17 NASB)

v. Rely on gifts given by the Holy Spirit

vi. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25 NASB)

b. Fleshly Laborers

i. Rely on their own power

ii. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. (Psalms 127:1 NASB)

iii. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6:38 NASB)

iv. Rely on their own wisdom

v. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5 NASB)

vi. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Matthew 7:26-27 NASB)

III. Need for More Laborers

a. Pray

i. The laborers come FROM the harvest! "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:38 NASB)

ii. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:8-9 NASB)

b. Get Involved

i. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)

ii. In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23 NASB)

iii. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (James 5:16 NASB)

iv. but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." (1 Peter 1:15-16 NASB)