To be diligent is to be constant,
attentive and persistent in effort, to accomplish something.
Labour is defined as productive
work; productive activity, especially for the sake of gain.
What is our responsibility as
God’s labourers? It is to diligently labour in His vineyard.
What is the criterion of being a
labourer?
Luke 14:26-27 (KJV) (Forsaking all) – “If any man come to
me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren,
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple”.
Matthew
9:35 - 38 (AMP) –
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues
and proclaiming the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds
of disease and every weakness and infirmity. When He saw the throngs, He
was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered
(harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a
shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful,
but the laborers are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and
thrust laborers into His harvest.
Matthew
13: 3-8 (KJV) – “And
he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the
fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had
not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of
earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no
root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up,
and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some
an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Isaiah 32
(AMPC) - Happy and
fortunate are you who cast your seed upon all waters [when the river overflows its
banks; for the seed will sink into the mud and when the waters subside, the
plant will spring up; you will find it after many days and reap an abundant
harvest], you who safely send forth the ox and the donkey [to range
freely].
Matthew
28:18-20 (KJV) – “And Jesus
came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
1 Kings
19:10; 18 – “And he
said, I have been very jealous for the Lord
God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown
down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only,
am left; and they seek my life, to take it away”.
“Yet I have left me seven
thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every
mouth which hath not kissed him”.
Genesis
6:5-8 (KJV) – “And
God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it
repented the Lord that he had made
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping
thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”.
(TLB) – “When the Lord God saw the
extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives
were only towards evil, he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart. And
he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I
created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am
sorry I made them.” But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord”.
(MSG) – “God saw that human evil was out of
control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to
night. God was sorry that he had
made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined
creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the
works. I’m sorry I made them.” But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah”.
Acts 8:
1-4 (TLB) – “Paul was
in complete agreement with the killing of Stephen. And a great wave of
persecution of the believers began that day, sweeping over the church in
Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. (But
some godly Jews came and with great sorrow buried Stephen.) Paul was
like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering
private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them. But the
believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good
News about Jesus!”
Prayers
· Lord, let gratitude and thanksgiving never depart
from our hearts and lives for this great task You have allowed us in Your mercy
to partake of. Lord we are grateful.
· Lord, help us to know what kind of labourers we
are. If we have not forsaken all, Lord give us light that we may see and
repent! Help us to arise where we have fallen short, and to press on
diligently. Let Your alarm bells go off in our heart, make us sensitive,
diligent and faithful.
· Father, help us to remain diligent labourers, no
matter the circumstance or the situation. Jesus did not give up on going to the
cross, neither did He loose heart when He saw how large the harvest was but
with few labourers. Help us Lord to encourage our hearts in You and press on
diligently.
· Lord, even though the labourers are few, we who You
have called, help us Lord, encourage our hearts as You did Elijah. Lord, Your
heart was encouraged by the life of Noah, let our lives, as few as we may be,
bring pleasure to You in the labour.
· 2 Corinthians 4:2 (KJV) – “But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to
every man's conscience in the sight of God”. Lord, let our lives as Your
labourers manifest the truth, not only “speaking” the truth, or even “praying”
the truth, let our very lives as labourers in Your vineyard manifest Your
truth.
