Neither him who plants nor him who waters...but God!

1 Corinthians 3:5-8
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase

Recently this scripture has been brought to my mind over and over again. We as believers are nothing, only vessels our great God and Savior uses to bring forth His fruit. We are simply unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10).

I've been in many discussions over the last year or so about the "method" we use out on the streets. In all honesty, I don't really know what are "method" is considered. Some call it "cold-calling". Some call it "confrontational". Some call it "open-air preaching. Some call it "holding signs". Some call it "relational". I guess I would call it all of the above, but more importantly I would call it biblical. Just like Jesus and His apostles, they received all kind of reactions to their message. Some loved them, others hated them. Some asked questions, others ignored them. Some became followers, others became traitors.

We as christians should expect the same reactions when we go out and share the Gospel. I boldly proclaim if we are not receiving these same reactions, then there is probably something severly wrong with our message. If everyone is hating you and what you are saying, then maybe you need to recheck your message and/or delivery. If everyone is accepting you and loving you, then maybe you need to recheck your message and/or delivery. If no one is asking questions, again recheck your message. If no one is receiving answers to their questions, recheck! We are to be followers of Jesus, therefore we would suspect that if our message is inline with Jesus' message, the reactions to follow would be similar.

I would even go further to say if most people are accepting your message...meaning they "believe" what you are saying and accept it as truth, then there is probably something wrong with your message. The bible is clear - the cross is foolishness to the world. Jesus himself said there will be more people in hell than heaven (Matthew 7:13-27). There are many churches in the world today that preach a very watered-down Gospel that the masses are flocking too. This Gospel talks very little, if any, about sin, righteousness, or the judgment to come. Why? Because most people think if they offend someone, or get to personal with them, and if the person walks away not believing them (or even "hating" them) then the messenger must have messed up. So instead of talking about sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment, many people are out to tell people the gospel without trying to be offensive. The fact is, the cross of Jesus Christ is the most offensive thing in the world! How much does God hate sin - look to the cross. Look what God did to His only Son...and it pleased Him (Isaiah 53:10).

So, my point is that we must be faithful to preach the bloody cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be faithful to preach about and against sin. We must be faithful to preach about the coming judgment. We must be faithful to preach this message, no matter what, no matter the outcomes. Leave the outcome up to God! Praise be to His name!

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:7