July 13, 1997

Is the church like a garden..?

Is the church like a garden..?

By: Ron George Jr.

Text:John 15:1-5

1. The Dream , the desire: What would you like to see? What would the Lord like to see? What is the vision? Why do we take the time and effort to raise a Garden? Because we want to have the fruit. Not just for ourselves but for our neighbors and family too.. The fruit is good and healthy, and we like it.

The Lord wants to see more fruit. Is he? He likes it . It makes him happy and He is blessed by the fruitful plants in his garden. He is the gardener and we are his plants.

Prov 29:18 (KJS) Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he.

In a Peanuts comic strip, there was a conversation between Lucy and Charlie Brown.

Lucy said that the church is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going; some place it so they can see where they have been; and some place it so they can see where they are at present. Charlie Brown’s reply: "I can’t even get mine unfolded."

What is God’s dream for our church? What it was in the past? What should it be now? Will you be a part of it? Do you want to fulfill God’s dream for your life? Will we fulfill God’s dream for our church?

"The world stands aside," said David Jordan, "to let anyone pass who knows where he is going." This applies to those, who learn where they are going late in life as well as for the young. At age 53, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister. At 64, Francis Chichester sailed alone around the world in a 53-foot yacht. At 65, Winston Churchill became British prime minister for the first time and started the epic struggle against Hitler. At 72, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel. At 75, Ed Delano of California bicycled 3100 miles in 33 days to attend his 50^th college reunion in Worcester, Massachusetts. At 76, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli became Pope John XXIII and inaugurated major changes in his church. At 80, Grandma Moses, who had started painting in her late 70s, had her first one-woman exhibit. At 81, Benjamin Franklin skillfully mediated between disagreeing factions at the U.S. Constitutional Convention. At 80, Winston Churchill returned to the House of Commons as a member of parliament and also exhibited 62 of his paintings. At 96, George C. Selbach scored a 110-yard hole-in-one at Indian River, Michigan. And on his 100^th birthday, ragtime pianist Eubie Blake exclaimed, "If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself."

Where are we going? Where does God want us to go? He gives the dream.

Let’s pray for a dream..

 

2. The Dirt. The climate. The Sonshine. The rain or water." In me" the fruit grows. The Prayer that maintains the relationship.. Daily Maintenance that must be done to continue to be fruitful. The cleansing of the word is like the rain that cleans the dirt off and gives water to the plants.

a. Nothing can grow in the Lord’s garden unless it remains in him..He is the source of all of our nutrition and fruit.

b. He gives the climate that causes the plants to grow. He gives all growth and all fruit.

Let’s pray for the cimate. the rain the nutrients.

3. The Deeds. It is work and God is at work in our lives , church, and community. The pruning of the branches.. The cultivation. The waiting.. The working.. The obedience to the Lord and his word in our lives .

continues to allow us to grow and to bear fruit.

a. God is the gardener.

b. We are the garden

He is Waiting, Working , and Watching for the garden to produce the fruit that he desires. He is patient for the fruit that he desires to find in our lives . He continues to work and to prune so that one day he will find the harvest. He is watching.

4. The Delivery..The harvest. When Meri, my daughter, asked here were the beans from the garden that we had worked on during the year.? Where are the result?

What have we reaped from our labors.? What has the Lord reaped from his garden? v.5 bring forth much fruit. What does the garderner see in our life?

The "War Cry" carried a story about a tenant farmer who had worked hard for many years to improve the production of the land. Then something happened that caused him to become very bitter. When it was time to renew his lease, the owner told him he was going to sell the farm to his son who was getting married. The tenant made several generous offers to buy it himself, hoping the man’s decision would be reversed. But it was all in vain. As the day drew near for the farmer to vacate his home, his weeks of angry brooding finally got the best of him. He gathered seeds from some of the most pesky and noxious weeds he could find. Then he spent many hours scattering them on the clean, fertile soil of the farm, along with a lot of trash and stones he had collected. To his dismay, the very next morning the owner informed him that plans for his son’s wedding had fallen through, and therefore he would be happy to renew the lease. He couldn’t understand why the farmer exclaimed in agonizing tones, "Oh, Lord, what a fool I’ve been!"

The lesson is clear: Whatever we sow, we will eventually reap.

Gala 6:7 (KJS) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

God Grows his garden. Stay connected to him by prayer. What is the fruit that he is finding in his garden? Does he need to clean out some of the weeds? Will we let him clean us out so that we can become fruitful?