Faithful Labor
The Faithful Labor of Missions
3 John 5-8
Yesterday was the first day of Spring. The Spring is the season of re-birth. It is the season of baseball and cook outs. It is one step closer to the summer vacation at the beach. It is also the beginning of the season of weekly yard work. As a family, we inaugurated the beginning of Spring, by racking out the leaves that had overtaken the beds in front of our house and replaced it with 30 bags of fresh brown mulch. The weeds and overgrowth that has suddenly appeared over the last week was cut down with the first spring mow. We replenished our side parking lot with two fresh tons of gravel patching the places where the rain made a muddy mess over the last 2 months. The yard was our Saturday family project. And as we looked over our faithful Spring labor, we all said, “The yard looks so good!” We worked hard, we worked together, and we admired the fruits of our labor. It was faithful family labor for the beauty of a well-maintained yard.
And I am sore. It was a little harder to get out of bed. My back is feeling the effects of shoveling those two tons of gravel and moving all those bags of mulch. I am feeling a little pain, but “the yard looks so good!” Beloved, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the great privilege to labor in another field, a field that is whit with the harvest. Jesus said to his disciples, in John 4:35–37
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, t‘One sows and another reaps.’
We have been called to put our hands to the plow and not look back and labor in the harvest of the righteous. We have been called to get a little sore, to feel a little pain, so that we could look out at our faithful labor and say, “the harvest looks so so good!”
The Apostle Paul spoke our mission in farming language as well when he writes to the church of God at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 3:5–9
[5] What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Some plant, some water, but we all must labor. We are God’s fellow workers who are called to give ourselves to the mission. We labor and God gives growth and gets all the glory. The Lord does not need us, but has invited us to join him in the harvest.
Gaius was one such laborer in the harvest. I pray that we learn from Gaius how we too can join in the harvest as fellow workers, co-laborers in the mission of God to help win the lost and strengthen the saints so we can look at our work and say, “I am a little sore, but it looks so so good. It was totally worth it!”
The Faithful Labor of Love for the Truth
The Apostle John is writing to his dear friend Gaius to encourage him to continue in his work for the kingdom of God. He begins the body of the letter with more encouragement, 3 John 5, “Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church.” John has already affirmed Gaius for one who is walking in the truth. John did not see it himself, but brothers from Gaius’s church came to John and told him how Gaius was living. Gaius was not out for his own glory but the glory of God. Now, we see one specific way in which Gaius was walking in the truth. He was helping itinerant Christian missionaries share the gospel in his community and beyond.
Travel was not safe in the first century. Inns were places of dangerous people and immoral behavior. It was not wise to stay in the Inns unless you had nowhere else to go. Hospitality was prized in the first century as one of the highest virtues and honors. Hospitality in the Greek is translated, “lover of strangers.” We see that Gaius lived that word out. The text says, “It is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love for the church.” Gaius did not know these brothers, but he knew their God. They shared the same Savior. Therefore, they were brothers and sisters in Christ.
Let me draw out two important aspects of John’s affirmation of Gaius’s walking in truth in caring for Christian missionaries. First, it is a faithful thing to do. It is a right and good thing to care for and to welcome and support missionaries for the sake of the gospel of Christ. It is a good thing. Secondly, it is a hard thing. John says “in all your efforts.” Supporting God’s mission and God’s workers in the mission will take effort. It is not always easy. It is not always convenient. It is not always practical. But it will be worth it.
On October 2nd, 1792 William Carey, Andrew Fuller, and a small group of Baptist pastors formed the Baptist Missionary Society. At the end of the 18th century, Foreign missions were foreign. The church at large did not believe it was wise, practical or necessary to reach the pagan world with the gospel. John Ryland, one of those Baptist pastors, recounts the moment when Carey invited his brothers to become his “Gaius” and rope holders as he was approaching the pit,
Our undertaking to India really appeared to me, on its commencement, to be somewhat like a few men, who were deliberating about the importance of penetrating into a deep mine, which had never before been explored, [and] we had no one to guide us; and while we were thus deliberating, Carey, as it were, said “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.” But before he went down . . . he, as it seemed to me, took an oath from each of us, at the mouth of the pit, to this effect—that “while we lived, we should never let go of the rope.”
William Carey went to India and gave his life for the call of the gospel. Andrew Fuller stayed in Britain and never let go of the rope. If you read of William Carey’s life, you will read of a life of suffering on the mission field. If you read of Andrew Fuller’s life, you will read of a life of suffering at home for the sake of those on the mission field. Carey went into the pit, Fuller held the rope. The modern missionary movement cannot be explained with one and not the other. It takes missionaries and it takes rope holders.
There will be some of you who will be called to suffer on the mission field and there will be others who will be called to suffer at home for the sake of the mission. Both are essential and both require effort. We all must be open to whatever part of his mission he wants us to play. If we go, we are called to go by God. If we stay, then we are called to stay by God. Gaius was called to stay and support gospel work from home.
The Faithful Labor of Love for the Truth: Send in a Worthy Manner
John rejoiced in Gaius’s love for the truth. He wrote to him to encourage him to continue in his efforts, “You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.” The phrase “you will do well” was a common phrase of the day meaning, “please.” Please send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. Give your best, give generously, and give joyfully that missionaries would have all that they need for the mission. For they are not mere strangers, but brothers and sisters in Christ on the shared mission of God.
When we have the opportunity to support missionaries, we should ask, “How can I send them or support them in a manner worthy of God?” Remember that the work of sending will require effort and sacrifice, but will be worth it. How can I send them in a manner worthy of God? And not only how can I send them, but how can we send them? We are in this gospel work together.
The Faithful Labor of Love for the Truth: For the Sake of the Name
We can and should send them out in a manner worthy of God because we love who they proclaim. 3 John 7, “For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.” They have gone out for the sake of the name. The name that is above every name. The name at which every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. The name that every tongue will confess. The only name under heaven given among men that they may be saved. They went out for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
We can send out missionaries joyfully and sacrificially because they go to share the Name of Christ. If you are here and not a follower of Jesus, I hope you look at the sacrifices that Christians are willing to make to tell people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the good news of what Jesus Christ has done. The Bible says that the world was created good. Man had perfect fellowship with God. Sadly, man and woman were deceived in the Garden by the evil one and fell into sin. Their sin brought death and judgment into the world. Humanity was cursed. But God provided salvation. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save humanity by becoming human. He was the new man, like Adam, who was in a perfect relationship with God, but when he was tempted by the evil one, he obeyed God. Jesus lived a perfect life and was innocent of all sin. Jesus gave his perfect life as a sacrifice for sinners. Jesus died on a cross to pay for all the sins for all who would believe in his name. He was dead and buried. And yet, Christians do not follow Jesus merely because he died. We follow him because he rose from the dead. Jesus conquered death and sin in his resurrection on the third day. Now, if anyone calls on the name of Jesus Christ, in repentance and faith, they will be saved.
The reason that Christians joyfully give and joyfully suffer for the cause of the gospel is because the gospel is what saves. The Gospel has saved us. Jesus died for our sins. He paid our debt. He gave his life for us. He was raised for our hope and our eternal life. Therefore, we gladly are willing to give our most faithful labor for the sake of the Name. Friend, do you realize that you need a Savior? Do you realize that you are a sinner? What will you trust in at your death? The Bible says that our only hope of salvation is the Name of Jesus. Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Trust in the name of Jesus Christ and be saved.
Beloved, if we believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior. If we believe that there is salvation in no one else, but Him, then we should joyfully send people out in a manner worthy of God for the sake of His name. John makes the point that the gospel mission should be funded by gospel believers. The missionaries are accepting nothing from the Gentiles meaning they are not asking non-Christians to pay for their teaching. It was the practice of Paul and the other early Christian missionaries not to take money from the people they were trying to reach. They did not want their motives to be mixed with financial gain. The church supported their efforts to win the lost. The same is true today. The gospel mission should be fueled and funded by gospel believers. We go for the sake of Name and we give for the sake of the Name. Never forget that name. It is the name of Jesus and the glory of Jesus that stirs our affections and our motives to the give and go so that others may know the name of Jesus and have life in his name.
The Faithful Labor of Love for the Truth: As Supporting Colaborers of the Gospel
John makes it clear that we cannot expect the world (non-believers) to support the missionary enterprise. We need people to hold the rope for those who are going into the pit. 3 John 8, “Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers in the truth.” First, it is a faithful thing to support Gospel workers. It is a matter of obedience. Secondly, we must be wise in who we support. John says that we ought to support “people like these.” We ought to support people who have gone out for the sake of the Name with pure motives and pure doctrine. Not every Christian organization and not every Christian missionary are the same. We must be wise and discerning in who and what organizations and missionaries we support. We have already seen in John’s writing that he warns of those who teach false doctrine and deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh.
Thirdly, when we support Gospel workers we are fellow workers for the truth. Some water, some plant, but God gives the growth. We are fellow workers in God’s field. No one serves for their own glory but the glory of the One has saved. We all give and go for the sake of the Name. When we give, participate in gospel mission as fellow workers of the truth. Paul writes in Philippians how all his efforts as a missionary were done as a co-laborer with the church, “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” (Phil.1:7). Paul was on the mission field, but was supported by the Philippian church. And the Philippian church was not wealthy in finances, but they were rich in love for Jesus and the call of the gospel.
I pray that our congregation will be like the church of Philippi who gives generously for the cause of Christ. I pray that we will sacrifice for the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has been encouraging to my heart over this past week as I have reflected on how our church has participated in as fellow workers in the truth. The missionaries testified to John on how Gaius labored by opening up his home and welcoming strangers for the call of Christ. Beloved, we have many Gaius’s in our church. We have had a number of families open up their homes for summer missionaries serving with our Generation Link internship. As I thought about how many families that have done it over the years, more and more names kept coming to my mind. Someone in our church was recently talking to a visitor about how it is not uncommon for members to open up their homes to have people live with them. And the more I thought about that, the more I realized it was true. Praise God for the joyful sacrifice of God’s people for the sake of the Name.
We want to be co-laborers for the truth. We also want to be collaborators for the truth. A co-laborer is one who labors or works with another. A collaborator is similar but it is one who labors or works with another for a common goal. We are working for the common goal of the Great Commission. We have been called by God to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that the Lord has commanded us. We have a common mission and we must work together to meet it.
We want to see other churches flourish for the sake of Christ. We are not about the kingdom of Park Baptist Church, but about the kingdom and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We want the church of the Lord Jesus to flourish. Therefore, we ought to support people like Trell and Lauren Ross in their new gospel efforts at Pioneer Church. We should pray, give to and/or go with them for the sake of the Name. We want the name of Christ to flourish in our city and we need many gospel churches to do it. We are not able to reach this city on our own.
We ought to support organizations like the Pillar Network. A group of like minded churches partnering together plant and revitalize healthy churches with healthy gospel doctrine and a robust ecclesiology. The kingdom of God is bigger than York County, South Carolina. We should link arms with the Treasuring Christ Church of Ann Arbor and Beacon Community Church of Boston and Parkwood Church of Gastonia and Moscow Bible Church in Russia. We are collaborators for a common goal of the glory of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.
I believe that our church is uniquely positioned to help disciple, mentor and train future pastors and missionaries for the sake of the Name. Our summer internship is a church wide internship. Members open their homes to house and feed our summer missionaries. Our church mentors and disciples them in the gospel. Many of the core team members that are being sent out of Park to join Pioneer were first our summer missionaries. Those of you who had them into your home and encouraged them with your hospitality and conversations around the Word of God are fellow workers for the truth. God has given our elders a unique and strong desire to invest personally and financially in the development of faithful pastors and missionaries.
I love to dream about how God wants to use our church to reach the nations. I want our church to be an anchor for the development Spanish-speaking pastors and missionaries who will help develop and strengthen healthy churches in the Spanish-speaking world. I want our church to be a model for pouring into and sending out young men and women in the harvest field. The text in 3 John 8, “Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.” We are called to support gospel workers so we can be fellow workers. Therefore, we must ask ourselves, “How can we individually and corporately labor for the sake of the Name?”
We have members who have moved to a house so that they can consistently house interns and missionaries. We have others in conversations about adding additions to their homes or remodeling their homes so they can be house and mentor and invest in gospel workers. In my study of effective churches in developing and deploying pastors and missionaries to field, one of the common themes has been faithful saints leaving homes to the church in their wills as a tool and resource to provide the infrastructure necessary for gospel work. What could you do for the mission?
My family and I have had the privilege of bringing people into our home for different seasons, but they have not just been brought into our homes. They have become part of our family. There are times when it is inconvenient and challenging to have people in your home, but it is worth it. It is worth it to see young men and women live for the gospel. Some will go to the mission field while others will be those who hold the rope for those who go. We plant, others water, but God gives the growth.
Let me close with Jesus' words to the Apostle Peter. The disciples see the rich young ruler leave Jesus’ presence sad not willing to give up his great wealth. The text says they were exceedingly astonished, and said to Jesus, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” And then the text says Mark 10:28, Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” The text doesn’t say it, but I believe it is implied that Jesus stops him and says, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Beloved, Jesus was telling Peter that everything you give up will be worth it. You may give up home or family or land for the sake of the Name, but you will receive much, much more in this age and the age to come, eternal life. The rich young ruler kept all he had and lost the Lord, the disciples gave all they had, and they found Him. The mission of the sake of the Name requires effort and sacrifice, but it will be abundantly worth it. We may be sore and in a little pain, but we will look out and say, “The harvest looks so so good.” And on the last day, when we see the one for whose Name we labored, Jesus Christ our Savior, we will know it was worth it. It is a faithful thing you do beloved in all your efforts for the sake of His Name.