Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Whenever there is a large construction project, you have many different people involved on the site, such as bricklayers, electricians, and carpenters. Each of them has a specialized task that they are required to do. But if the foundation is poured improperly and some of the building collapses, or if the wiring catches fire and burns it to the ground, it certainly is not the carpenter’s fault. He did a good job at the thing that he was required to do, and in the end was rewarded for his labor.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like a carpenter, a preacher is simply required to do their job in order to reap an eternal reward. Whether people receive the teachings of scripture or reject them, you can know when your head hits the pillow at night, that you did your duty.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
Although a preacher really wants to help people come to a saving knowledge of God’s Holy Word, that is not always going to happen. This is because many people are not going to receive Spiritual truth. Whether they receive it or not, it’s all a work of God, because He will open up the heart of one person, and then harden the heart of somebody else.
Romans 9:15-21 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Sometimes when people preach, they will become disheartened, simply because of someone’s negative response. But their reaction is not your problem. What you must do is shake off the dust, and move on to somebody else, because there are plenty of fish to catch in the sea.
Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Acts 18:5-6 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
Preachers are only responsible to plant the seed of scripture into people’s hearts, but whether it grows or not is God’s department. You cannot blame yourself for somebody else’s impenitence. If they have been ordained by God to eternal life, they will repent and grow according to His will. If they have not, they will turn their ears away from the life giving teachings of scripture, and shrivel up and eventually perish in their sins. But whatever the response may be, one must do their duty and keep preaching God’s Word. Some people are only going to last for a period of time as a Christian, and will eventually get up and leave anyway.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
1 John 2:18-19 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
Things happen according to God’s will, and sometimes He will send a man of God to preach to a city such as Nineveh, but at other times they are sent unto one person.
Luke 4:25-26 (KJB) But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Sometimes workers will go out into a huge field and plant millions of seeds, but then eventually leave the area and never have the opportunity to see the trees grow into maturity. Like I said already, whether they grow or not is God’s department, and the planters did their job by putting the seed into the ground. Other local people might check on their progress and make sure to water them regularly. They too will be rewarded for their labor. But it’s clear from scripture that some seeds are not going to sprout, and even after a period of growth, they will eventually fall over or wither away.
Matthew 13:18-23 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
So whatever you do for the Lord Jesus is going to be rewarded, no matter what the response from others might be. All of us will be judged according to our works, so you always want to make sure that you focus on the job that God wants you to do. People will come and go, buildings will rise and fall, but whatever happens, as long as you did your job, that’s all that really matters. Focus on your calling, and make sure you do a good job, because you will eventually be rewarded, just like……
……The Carpenter
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.♥️
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