Take Root Downward Bear Fruit Upward, Part 1- 1-7 AM 1996

1- 1-7 AM 1996 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Sooner or later as a Christian, you have to begin to enjoy your life of Christianity. It did not I did not say love the world, I say enjoy your life serving God. Amen? The idea behind it is uh I I I kind of thought, well, here we are in 1996. What's what's the purpose of our life? And as a Christian, there's no doubt in my mind what the purpose of my life is. Just like Jesus glorified the Father while he was on the face of the earth, he's my example and what I'm supposed to do with whatever talents and abilities and little things that I can do for the Lord, I'm supposed to glorify him, his heavenly Father, our Heavenly Father. I'm supposed to glorify Jesus. He and the Father are one with my life down here. Wouldn't you agree? Now, your life as a Christian should be spent, and my life as a Christian should be spent glorifying the Father which is in heaven. That's our goal. Look at John chapter 15 very quickly. And let me lay a little bit of a foundation and show you something just a little bit later on that I think will be interesting to you. Look at John chapter 15. Notice, if you would, a familiar verse of scripture. Look at verse number eight, verse eight. Herein is my father what? Say it.

unknown 1:06

Glorified.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Glorified. My purpose as a Christian, your purpose as a Christian is to glorify the Father. Herein is my Father glorified. Here's how we do it that ye bear much what? Fruit. So shall ye be my disciples. So what I'm supposed to do is bear fruit. If you would look a little bit further and notice Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4. And another verse of scripture over here that deals along these same lines. And you say, well, I know that. Stay with me. Philippians chapter 4. And notice, if you would, a verse, verse 17. Verse 17. Not because I desire a gift. Why was he saying verse 17? Because of verse 16. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again into my necessity. And he says, not because I desire a gift, but look what his attitude was, this leader, if you would, Paul writing to the Philippians, but I desire what? Fruit that may abound to whose account? Your account. Now stay with me and let me make a statement. If you're a parent in here and you have a child, as a leader, you should want that child as a follower, you should desire fruit that would bear to their account. Would you agree? If you're a husband, you should want fruit to abound to your wife's account and your the account of your marriage. If you're a friend in some way, shape, or form to encourage someone else, we're supposed to desire fruit that may abound to someone else's account. Let me make a statement. As a pastor, is it wrong for me to want fruit to abound to your account?

unknown 2:38

No.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

I want you to be fruitful. I want you to have fruit that abounds. Why? Because the way that we glorify the Father is to bear what? Say it. Fruit. Now I've done a little bit of gardening. And I'm not a professional gardener or anything. I grow a little, uh grow some things for my family to eat, and we have leftovers and we give them out and things like that. But uh you have to, when you look at the fruit end of it, you uh and you start talking about bearing fruit, you have to go way back to the beginning. For example, right now I'm doing a little rotor tillering. Getting ready for the gardening season upcoming. I mean, I'm out there rotor tilling that ground, all that. By the way, I got the grass planted. If you were here, uh if you were here before Christmas, I got it planted for my wife. I want to tell you, we we have seen a little grass growing. Always excited. I said to Patty last night, we went out to eat a little bit, and I said, Patty, how are you liking your grass so far? It's just little spurts of it here and there, and I'm sure there's going to be big spots and everything. She said, Oh, it looks great. Well, of course it does. I'm growing it. Now stay with me. The idea is, though, when you start thinking about growing fruit, what we have to do is you have to go way back. There's a few elements. I want you to listen to me, and I'll give you some scriptures on it. Uh, there's the ground, the soil, if you would. Uh, there's the seed, obviously. Uh you have to water it if you would. And there's uh there's a lot of things that come up along the way. For example, every garden that I've ever had, every gardener I ever talked to always have two things in their garden. It's worldwise, rocks and weeds. Amen. Every gardener has rocks and weeds. So let me show you some scripture about this. Look at Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. You say, come on, you're talking about gardening. I come to hear something that was going to help my Christian life. Here we go. Luke chapter 8. Let me show you some scriptures. We want to bear fruit. We want fruit to abound to our account, not only our account, but those who we have an influence, if we would, as a co-laborer. Look at Luke chapter 8. Stay with me. In Luke chapter 8, I want you to notice, and this is the explanation to the parable of the sower. We're not going to read the whole thing because of the time, but look, if you would at Luke chapter 8, and notice verse 15. Verse 15. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth what? Say it? Fruit with patience. So in that verse, it tells us scripturally, when God refers to the ground, if you would, and he talks about sowing seeds. And when he talks about the good ground here, if you look at verse 15, he says this, brethren, the good ground is those who have an honest and good heart. Now, anybody that knows anything about uh uh gardening, the first thing you have to do is prepare the ground. Is that right? Come on, yes or no? I mean, I've uh sown seed in clay ground before and nothing's grown. Have you ever done that? I mean, you go out, scratch a little bit out, and it's hard ground, and it's non-porous and everything like that. You throw the seed, you scratch it in, you water it, it grows up about this tall and dies. Is that right? What's the problem? It's not good ground, it's not porous ground, it's not been prepared. And that's why some people they hear the word of God. Their heart's not prepared, their hearts hard, their hearts a little uh uh unprepared as far as the good ground. The word, the the seed of the word bounces in, but it never grows. Why? The ground's not prepared. The idea he says there, the good ground is an honest and a good heart. Hold your place in Luke chapter 8 and look at Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel 36. Stay with me, please. Ezekiel 36. I want to have a good garden this year. And I'm not talking about just tomatoes and corn and and uh and all the rest of the stuff that we grow down here. I'm talking about I like to bear fruit for the Lord and glorify my Father which is in heaven. I like my marriage to glorify the Father which is in heaven. I like my children to glorify the Father which is in heaven. I like our ministry and our church to glorify the Father which is in heaven, which means this year we need to bear some fruit. Is that right? Come on, talk to me, yes or no? Sure. Look at Ezekiel chapter 36, Ezekiel 36, and notice the verse of scripture here. The heart is the is the what? Say it. The heart is the good ground, is the soil. Look at Ezekiel 36, and notice verse 26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the what? Say it. The stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep my judgments and do those. So what he says he's going to do is he's going to replace the stony heart with a heart, if you would, that's fleshy, or if you would, softer, that will receive the word of God. Now, I don't know about you, but I grew up with a hard heart. I grew up with a with a heart that needed some preparation. Uh, when I started working in our garden down where we have a little place, one end of it was what's pretty well clay. And I mean, I remember out there, uh, I didn't have a rotor tiller or anything like that, and I got out there with my spade, and I started, it was dry in the middle of the summer, and I started putting that spade in the ground and got about halfway down, I thought, uh-oh, I'm in big trouble down here. Because I've spaded from the time I was a young boy all the way up and everything, and I jumped on that and I got about three-quarters of the way down, and I turned the dirt over and it flew up, and I thought, oh man, look at this ground. This is gonna be tough. And I went and I did a little bit more, and I said, Man, we gotta, we gotta get some help here. This is not gonna work. So I went down and watered it all, and I got a rotor tiller in there, and I started tearing that thing up and everything, and I started putting stuff in the ground, uh, leaves, and uh, and uh, if you would, uh, uh, the type of idea of uh when you mulch it down and everything. And now, after three or four years, we've got good soil. We've got a better soil system. But you know what God does with people? He has to take that old stony heart, that old hard heart, that old clay heart, and he has to do something, if you would, and create in us a new heart that will receive the word of God, which is the seed. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3, please. You say, man, I've got a person I've been trying to witness to, and they just don't seem like they're getting it. What you need to do is pray that God will soften their heart. A broken and a contrite heart. Why? Because the ground, a good and honest heart, is where that ground will receive that seed, and that seed will grow. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3. See, sometimes we just go out there and we just throw seed out and throw seed out and throw seed out, and that's great. Keep throwing seed out. Get the seed out of the barn. But, brethren, please look up here. If the word of God is sown and sown and sown, and the heart is never prepared by God, and there's not a broken and a contrite spirit, the roots can never develop. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3. By the way, it can happen to Christians too. Our heart can begin to grow hard. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 3. And notice with the idea of this heart, verse 2. Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men, for as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the what? Say it. Spirit of the living God. Not in tables of what? Stone. It's not, it's not like Moses wrote that on the stone. It's not in that stony heart, but in fleshy tables of the what? Heart. So the heart is the good, an honest heart is the good ground where the seed, which is the word of God, is sown. Now, if you would, uh look if you would at Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. You're still holding your place in the book of Luke. And in just a moment, this will all begin to come together. Just a little gardening lesson. Colossians chapter 2. Now I'm going to ask you a question. We know that the heart is the ground and the soil. Let me just stop here. Do you understand horticulture? Do you understand enough that you know you throw the seed in the ground and you water the seed and the seed sprouts roots down below first? Have you ever put a potato in a glass of water with the toothpicks and everything? Anyone ever do that? An avocado seed? Anyone ever do that? Come on, come on, come on. You have, all right? What's the first thing that begins to grow? The roots come down first. Now, listen, you didn't plan that, I didn't plan that, God planned that. God set it up that way. So the first thing that you'll see developing it on that potato or that or that avocado, if you would, is the what? Say it. It's the root system, is that right? Uh let me ask you a question. In the Bible, what are roots referred to? What's it referring to? If the table of the heart, the good and honest heart, is the soil where the seed, which is the word of God, is sown, what's the root system? Look at Colossians 2. Colossians chapter 2, and notice if you would, verse 7. Verse 7. What's the first word? Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the what? Faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. I'm going to tell you, and I'm going to show you a couple scriptures. The root system really deals with the idea and the concept of faith. Rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith. When the root system is properly established, there is faith that's established in that heart, and it begins to use that good and honest heart, and faith begins to build in there. Look back, if you would, at Luke chapter 8, and let me show you. Luke chapter 8. Now I understand it's maybe a little hard to get excited about this, but I'm excited about it when you get the whole picture. Good and honest heart is the good ground. Look at Luke chapter 8 again. Thanks for turning there. And notice this root system. Verse 13. They on the rock, verse 13, are they, which when they hear receive not the word with what? Joy. And these have no what? Okay, no root. Why? Because the seeds thrown on the rock. Look up here just a moment. Do you understand? If you so throw seed on a rock, you water it, it may start to develop some type of root system, but it's not going to grow. Weeds will grow on a rock, but good fruit won't. So they say this: these seeds are sown on this rock. They receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while do what? Believe, that's faith, and in time of temptation fall away. I submit to you that the root system is the way that we believe and our faith is developed in that good, solid soil. The seed is planted, and that root system begins to develop. Look, if you would at Ephesians chapter 3. Stay with me. Ephesians chapter 3. I've got to give you this as a basis. Ephesians chapter 3. I don't know if that root system is the faith. Stay with me. Look at Ephesians 3 and notice if you would verse number 17. Verse 17. That Christ may dwell in your what? Come on, say it. In your what? Hearts, thank you. By faith, that ye being what? Rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height. The idea is to be rooted in Christ is to be established in the faith. Now, please look up here. The seed is sown. If we have a broken and a contrite heart. Have you ever heard the saying, break up the follow ground? Break up the follow ground. It's biblical. There's two places in the Bible, in Jeremiah and Hosea, break up the follow ground. Do you know what follow ground is? Sure, uh, if I grew up in Ohio. I I grew up in the farming community. If you lay it, let a let a ground lay without crops for two or three years, and the government pays for that, so the ground has a chance to rest, and you let that crop la you let that ground just lay out there. It gets all hard and crusty and everything after a couple years of the rain and the sun and everything, and it's called follow ground. And all that's growing on it is weeds. And what you have to do in there, you have to get your tractor in there, and I've done this many times, and you put the eight-bottom plow in there, and you put that thing, you put that way down on the bottom rung on that thing to where it's going to plow deep. You put it in first gear, and you just lay on the gas and it goes, ah. And you just break up that follow ground, what are you doing? You're tearing up all that ground that's been laying barren and dry and dusty and crusty and cracks, and there's nothing growing on it, and you're breaking up that follow ground because you're getting ready to plant a new crop, a new harvest. And you know what God has to do with people? He has to break up that follow ground, break up that hard heart, break up that contrite heart. And sometimes we're praying for someone to get saved, and we say, Oh, God, save them. We've seen them going, and things are happening in life, and this is going wrong, and that going wrong, and they're crying, and this isn't happening right, and that's not happening right, and we think, oh God, if you were going to save them, why is all this happening? Because God's answering prayer. One of the best ways up is down. The breaking has to come first, except the corn of wheat fall in the ground and die. The breaking of that seed has to come first, just like the follow ground has to be broken up in our hearts. And when the follow ground is opened up and broken up, if you would, then we have a contrite heart. He can sow that seed in there, and a root system can begin to establish, please look up here, in that ground. Established and grounded, rooted in love. A heart of love is the easiest place for the roots called faith to grow. You know what I want to have? I want my whole heart, if you would. I want my attitude to be rooted and grounded and established in that faith so there can be more fruit on the top of the tree. Let's uh let's talk just for a minute. No roots, no fruit. Now, root, root. How many say root? How many say root? I grew up, I was with in college with a guy, he called a taco a taco. He called a radiator a radiator. He called a root a root. I mean, he had all kinds of stuff. We had a whole new vocabulary. It doesn't matter. Root, root, however you say it, roots are still roots, roots are still important for growing fruit on the top. Is that right? Now listen, I've seen some Christians where the roots dry up. I've seen Christians where the faith begins to dissipate. I've seen stony places come back into Christians' hearts. I've had to fight off a few of my stony places in my own heart. Every once in a while, brother, you've got to go back in your garden and break it all up again and remove the rocks. You go into a new area of your life and God says, listen, I want to I want to go over in this area and I want you to establish some faith in this area. And when God gets in there, he starts breaking up the heart a little bit, and there's some rocks in there that has to be taken out. Why? Because if he doesn't get those out, the root system won't gravitate and grip that ground like it's supposed to. Roots don't grip a rock like it grips dirt, and that root system is necessary for the tree to grow taller and taller. Now there's something else. Stay with me. Look at Psalms chapter 1 and John chapter 7. You say, this is not exciting. It will be in a minute. John chapter 7 and Psalms 1. John 7, Psalms 1. No root, no fruit. Psalms 1, John 7. So the ground is the heart. A good and honest heart is the best type of soil for this seed, which is the word of God, to grow. The root system that's going to be established is the idea of faith. It's going to, if you would, and if you think of a root system, it goes in it and it clings on and it permeates. Now look at John, I'm sorry, Psalms 1, if you would. Psalms 1. And look, if you would at verse 3. Verse 3. And he shall be like a what? Tree. Planted by what? The rivers of water. Now you would understand this. Water is vital to crops. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in the season. His leaf also shall not wither. Why won't it wither? Because of the water, is that right? Did you ever see a Christian wither? Do you ever see a Christian wither? Another terminology, that ye faint not? It's possible for Christians to wither. So it says here, because he's by the rivers of water, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall what? Prosper. Fruit year after year after year after year. Why? Because how many of you ever seen a stream running through? And you know it's a stream or a river, if you would, because you look, and down and near this stream it could be barren up here on the hill and barren over here. But down along that stream there's plants growing, there's trees growing. Why? Because that stream or that river is feeding those roots. And those roots are growing, and even in a dry season, if that creek is still flowing, that water table is still right down there, and those roots are growing into that water table with that soil, and that tree is going to continue to flourish. Why? Because of the water. Now, you say, what's the rivers of water? Look at John chapter 7. John chapter 7. And once you start getting the whole picture, it all starts to make some sense. Look at John chapter 7. And if you would uh look at uh verse 17, I'm sorry, 37, John 7, 37. Thanks for turning there. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood in verse 37, cried and saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Verse 38. He that believeth on me, as the scriptures have said, out of his belly shall flow what? Rivers of what? Living water. And then he explains what that is in verse 39. But this spake he of the what? Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. So the river of water, if you would, the water table that we as Christians have to allow our roots, which is our faith, to cling on to and build up in, is the Holy Spirit of God. Now, look up here. Here I am as a Christian. Jesus healed a man one day, and he says, I see men walking as trees. In the Bible, he's likened me to a tree. And as a tree, what I'm supposed to do is let God break up the follow ground of my heart, my mind, my attitude, if you would. Break it up, give me a broken and contrite heart. Replace that old stony heart with a heart shaped after God. God is love. And he says that heart that's established and rooted with love is where that seed's going to grow, and the seed is the word of God. And the word of God comes in, and I read that daily on a daily basis that it's replanted, and every once in a while you've got to reseed along the way. And the idea is then we get water through the Holy Spirit of God, which is the one who, if you would, allows the water to come and gives the water table so the roots begin to grow. The seed sprouts, the roots grow first, gets into that water table, if you would, the Holy Spirit of God as we abide, and God gives the increase, and there's a plant that starts to grow. And out of that plant, if the root system is established and grounded and rooted in a heart of love, over the period of time, that tree prospers, staying by that river, staying by the Holy Spirit. Of God, and over a period of years, fruit starts to grow on that tree, and God is pleased when that fruit grows because the idea of fruit gives God glory, and when God's glorified, He's pleased, and that's the purpose of my life. I wish it was that easy. Close your book, let's go home. Start bearing some fruit. But, brethren, there's a problem. In my garden, there's weeds. You know what weeds do? You say, oh, yeah, they grow up and you just pull the tops off and everything's fine. Yeah, you don't know anything about gardening. The biggest problem with the weed is not on top. The biggest problem with the weed is underneath the surface. Is that right? Because what do weeds do? Their root system gets into my good root system and begins to strangle off those roots, and if we're not careful, it chokes the plant out that's bearing the good fruit. Is that right? You understand tares and wheat? Tares look just like wheat. But if you let too many tares grow in the field, it begins to choke off the wheat, and you don't get as bountiful as a crop. Did I lose you? You say, man, this is just horticulture. Look, if you would look back at Luke 8, stay with me. Luke chapter 8. Because I'll guarantee, if we're not careful, the weeds will begin to grow. Our heart will begin to lose some of its nutrients to these weeds. The root system of the weeds will begin to potentially overtake the root system of the good tree that's supposed to bear the fruit. And say, okay, well, show me the weeds, all right? Here's the weeds. Look at Luke chapter 8. Look at verse 14. And they that fell, they which fell among what? Say it, thorns, are they which, when they have heard, go forth and are what? Wait a minute, what does choke mean? Choke means the this weed, if you would, wraps around the root system and the stem of the good. And it begins to choke it. What's he choked with? The cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And bring no fruit to what? Let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever tried to grow something? Alright, here's the problem. You get it in there and you get the ground already prepared and all that, and you put that seed in there and it begins to grow up a little bit. Or you go buy one that's already uh potted and planted and you stick that into a bigger thing and it begins to grow. Now, how many of you ever had a plant that never got never borne any fruit? Sure, you know why most of the time? Something wasn't prepared just right. The soil wasn't right, it didn't get watered right, maybe the sun came up, maybe it scorches, or maybe we just forgot to weed it. I mean, you go out and sow some seed and everything like that, and somebody says, Well, well, how does the seed get sown that that produces the the the weeds? Well, the Bible says uh spir spiritually and scripturally that the devil comes along and does that. By the way, you don't have to try to grow weeds. Is that right? You don't have to plant weeds. They just come up. You say, where do you think they come from? Personally, I think they might have come with the curse. You say, do you think there were weeds choking everything off before the curse? I don't know. Purposely, personally? I can't prove it, but I don't think so. I don't think when God established the Garden of Eden, I don't know if uh, if I don't know if Adam was out there tending to a lot of weeds. But I know after God cursed it. Thorns? Now you say, preacher, now let me ask you something. What are these thorns and this these thistles that we have to worry about, these weeds? Look at it, please. Look, look Luke 8, 14, stay with me. Look at it. The cares of this life, the riches of this life, and the pleasures of this life. Now I want to make a statement. That doesn't mean we're not supposed to care about this life, doesn't mean we can't have riches in this life, and it doesn't mean we can't have pleasures in this life. It just means that those cannot choke out the sea, which is the word of God, which is supposed to root down, cling into that water, if you would, that water table, which is the Holy Spirit of God, and begin to bear fruit upward. And what can happen to these cares and these riches and these pleasures can begin to choke out, and there's no fruit brought forth to where we can be enjoyed. I mean, I've had plants that put fruit on before, but that never never grew to perfection to where you could eat them, to where they could be enjoyed. Look, if you would at 1 Timothy chapter 6, brother. 1 Timothy chapter 6. Are you getting anything? Now, I hope I want you to do this just for a moment. And I understand I don't have a whole lot of funny stories and illustrations and the rest of it with this message. It's more of a teaching style message. I want you to look to your left and look to your right, make sure your person that's sitting next to you is uh going to be a good gardener and they're still awake. Look at 1 Timothy chapter 6. So, what I have to be concerned about is that the cares and the pleasures and the riches of this life don't begin to come in and overshadow what I'm supposed to be doing in the way of bearing fruit. Look if you would at 1 Timothy chapter 6. Look what he says in verse number 9. But they that will be rich fall into temptation. Now, this is the choking, the cares of the world, riches of the world, pleasures of the world, and a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. Verse 10. For the what? Love of money. Doesn't say you can't have money, doesn't say you can't have riches. It says don't love it. For the love of money is the what? The what? Say it again, the what? The root of what? All evil. Now, I consider weeds in my garden evil. I look at my garden, if I let it, if I go away for a couple weeks and I come back and I haven't been down there tending to it a little bit, weeds are everywhere. Now, I I mulch after I plant and they get so much so the weeds don't grow as much. I do it the easy way. But the idea is those weeds down there are just evil little things. It's going to choke off my tomatoes, they're going to choke off my corn, they're going to choke off everything. And I'm not going to be able to eat and enjoy that fruit. Those weeds are little evil weeds. I have money in my pocket, but I don't love it. Why? Because if I get too attached to it, the Bible says it's the what? Say it. Root. Now, what does the root do? It chokes off the roots of my good tree. The problem is sometimes I get too focused on the temporal. Things that are seen are what? Say it. Temporal. The things that are not seen are eternal. If I'm not careful, I get so focused on the cares and the and the riches and the pleasures of this life, and what's going on is the weeds are starting to grow in my garden. If I'm not careful and I don't weed it out once in a while, what happens then is those weeds begin to overtake the roots that are sown in my good ground, and those roots begin to grow and take up that fertile soil that's supposed to be for the good roots, and the water, if you would, that's supposed to be going for the for the good ground, and the good roots are being choked off by the roots of the evil, the tares, the cares, the the entanglement of this world. And they don't bear much fruit. Wait a minute, look at verse ten again. For the love of money is the what say it? Root of all evil, which while that some coveted after, they have what? Erred from the and faith is what? Roots. They've erred from the faith. They they focused on the wrong roots. And pierced themselves through with many saws. You know, you could look at that and study that, and if you don't meditate on it, if God doesn't give you, it'll just be a bunch of words that won't make a difference. But here's the way I see myself. Here's the way I see my marriage. Here's the way I see my family. You know what I got sitting around my table? A bunch of plants. You say, where's that, Old Testament? Is that right? Just little plants sitting around my table. You know what they're supposed to do at my table? They're supposed to grow. You know what they're supposed to do as they grow? They're supposed to start bearing fruit. Why should they bear fruit? Because there's little Christians sitting around my table as they're growing up my house. You know what I've got going on? Look up here. I've got a greenhouse going on. It's my little greenhouse that I'm responsible for. I've got seven little plants at my greenhouse. And each one of us can bear their own fruit in their own way. And what I'm supposed to do is help develop each one of those plants, and they're all just a little bit different, and they all have just a little bit different personality. But please look up here. They all need a soft heart. They all need a heart where the seed is constantly being sown. You know, I'm watching this grass grow up, and you know what I've got to do sooner or later? I've got to reseed. Every once in a while, you've got to reseed a child. You've got to throw that seed back on there. In fact, weekly. In fact, daily. A child gets out of church too long, and you know what happened? Weeds start to grow. And where there should be plants growing up for the Lord, the weeds begin to grow. And by the time they're teenagers, they don't want to have anything due. Why? They're choked with the cares and the pleasures and the riches of this world. And they don't want to bear any fruit to God, and they don't want to get glorified. That's why I applaud you for having your children in church. That's why I say, get your children involved in the ministries around here. Why? They're like little plants that are around our table that we're responsible for. And what we're supposed to do is feed them and make sure they're abiding with the Holy Spirit of God, which is the water, and make sure their heart is being softened and the root system is growing in and getting deeper and deeper and stronger because one of these days they're going to leave my greenhouse. And they're going to go out into their own. Now they don't have to leave the greenhouse. They can stay in their own greenhouse. They don't have to go off into this world. You see, I look at the church as being a part of that greenhouse. I look at the church community as being a part of that. Somebody says, What are you going to do when they hit when they leave the greenhouse? Why do they ever have to leave? And if they grow strong in the greenhouse when they face some of the things in this world, the whole idea of having a greenhouse is the root systems get stronger, the plant gets stronger, the fruit is already born. They already know what it's like. They've tasted how it is to bear some fruit and have some success with God. They bump up against the world and they want to run back to the greenhouse again. They go out and live in this world a little while and they want to come back to the greenhouse. I'm 42 years old and I'm living in the greenhouse. Yeah, but I'm not of this world. Didn't you work in this world? Yeah, I worked in this world, but I didn't get attached. Didn't you work in this business? Yeah, I worked in business, but I didn't get attached. I didn't go to some of the things they went to. I didn't drink like they drank. I didn't get involved in all the jokes they got involved in. I didn't get involved in all the flirting and all the petting and all the stuff going on between the men and the female. I didn't get involved in all that. Why? Because God sent me in the greenhouse over 16 years ago, and he softened my heart and he broke my heart and he planted a seed and he's been watered, and the root system's been getting deeper and deeper and deeper. And here I am in 1996. Who knows how long I'd have to bear fruit? Who knows how long you had to bear fruit? But I suggest to you that we need to continue to bear fruit and let that root system get stronger and stronger. Take root downward, bear fruit upward. We need to focus on the root system, the root system, the root system. Too many people are saying, How much have you got? How much have we born? Hey, focus on the root system, and you know what's naturally gonna happen? The tree's gonna grow. The fruit's gonna come. Too many Christians are focused on the fruit. I suggest to you we need to focus more on the root. You say, What's the root? Please look up here. Say what the root is. Faith. We need to establish our faith. How do I establish my faith? Make sure my heart is grounded in an honest, sincere, and a heart of love. You know why marriages have problems? You know why marriages have problems? Rocks get back in that ground. Stony heart. Little pride. You say, what are the stones of a garden? I don't know. Name what you want. Most of the time it shows up in the form of pride. You know what pride does? It makes it so those roots can't grow any deeper. Please look up here. You know, if your root system is only about that deep and that that that that tree starts growing if you wouldn't get up there, you know, it may never produce fruit because the root system is too too shallow. A heavy wind comes along, it rains and storms, somebody says something to you at church. The speakers are too loud. It's too cold or it's too hot. The preacher yelled. The preacher was too forceful, he wasn't forceful enough. Somebody does you wrong or does me wrong. Look up here. The storm and the winds come. What happens to that plant? It blows over. And you see the roots up on top. You know what happens to that plant sooner or later? Dies. Now, does it lose its salvation? No. No. It just doesn't bear any fruit. It doesn't glorify the Father. You know what that tree that's been blown over? Walks around like a victim. You don't know what happened to me. If you would have gone through what I went through, you would have been had a different look. Hey, I've been through a few things. I've had people attack me. I've had people be unkind to me. But you know what? I've tried to been unkind to a few people along the way, too. Purposely or without purpose, I'd probably have done it. You know what? The idea of bearing fruit is really up to us. I'll make a statement. Looking at my time, so you know I'm watching. Yeah, look at that. Make a statement. Oh, I hope you take this right. And I want you to know my motive is that fruit may abound to your account. Please look up here. The good soil, the good ground is the what? Say it. The good ground, the good soil is the what? Say it again, the what? The heart. According to the book. Now let's say it again. Repeat after me, class. Stay with me. Don't be, don't be, don't be put down. The good soil, the good ground is the what? The heart. The water, where does the water come from? Holy Spirit of God. Or somebody says the water, the washing of the word, that's a little bit different terminology, but I'll go with the Holy Spirit, the word. The seed is definitely the word of God. The root system is our faith. And the best place for that faith to grow is a heart that's grounded in love. No doubt about it. Hate, a hateful heart, doesn't grow good roots. A critical heart, please look up here, doesn't grow good roots. That's why I think my first year of Christianity, I was growing, but I had some critical spirits, a critical spirit about me that wasn't good for establishing a good root system. But to bear fruit. The weeds, oh, those evil, evil little weeds. I could classify the weeds in three categories: the cares of this life, the riches of this life, the pleasures of this life. Amen? And the greatest one of all, the root of all evil, is love of money. Why? Because the love of money replaces God's love. You can't serve God and I can't do both. I run into people who say, well, you know, I just don't go to church. You know, we just don't think that's necessary. And you know what? I I understand if somebody says I don't think it's necessary, but let me ask you a question. Those of you who've been faithful in church and attending, wouldn't you agree that some of the best times when we need to get our weeds hoeed a little bit and cultivated around that plant a little bit and get it all cleared out again a little bit and fertilized a little bit? Have you ever been in a service and Wally Davis is sitting in here this morning? Just a few Sunday nights ago, I was sitting in here, and Brother Wally Davis started preaching about how wonderful God is. And you know what he was doing for me? He was kind of hoeing some weeds out from my crop there and hoeing around that plant just a little bit and throwing a little fertilizer on there and seeing another weed and hoeing it out a little bit. You know the right kind of preaching, you know what it does? It kind of keeps the garden cleaned up just a little bit. Now, you know what the church should do, and the preaching from the church should do? It should cause you to have a devotional life. And your devotional life. You know what every morning, what your devotional life is, or every evening, what your devotional life is? It's getting in there and getting a little water into those roots, and the roots grow a little bit more, and the soft, the ground gets softened just a little bit more, and the plant springs up a little bit more. And every once in a while we get into some scriptures where God begins to hoe a little bit, and the cares of this world, and some of the pleasures of this world, and some of the things of this world. He hoees them off. And by the way, sometimes when he hoees them off, he doesn't hoe the top off. He goes right down to the root of the thing, amen, and starts dealing with that thing, and he'll throw a little fertilizer on through that word once in a while and give us a little encouragement. That daily devotional life is important. That daily evening of devotional life, whatever time of the day is, that's important. But I think church is important too to get us back to that daily devotional life and provoke us to love and good works, and every once in a while to teach us something. We get around the saints that have a good spirit and we're encouraged to do more for the Lord. We get in here and sing a little bit, we're encouraged to do more for the Lord. We got all those little plants sitting around the table, and if we get them in the habit of not coming to church, by the time they're 22 or 23, there's a good possibility that they won't come to church. And I'll guarantee you, I've seen a garden grow up and the weeds take over, and you can't even find the good plants in there, and there's no fruit in there, and the thorns and the nettles come, and all of a sudden you look at that garden and you it's wasted. The ground is wasted. Here we are at 1996, starting a new year. Got a bunch of gardeners in here. You say, Oh, I'm a gardener. Oh, yes, you are. You say, Well, whose garden do I tend to? The first one is your own. Come on, your own heart. Your own ground, your own soil. And by the way, one of these days we stand up before the husbandman. You say, Who's the husbandman? He's the owner of the field. And we give an account for how we've gardened. As laborers in his what? Harvest. In his field. So the first garden I have to tend to, please look up here is whose? My own. But I have more responsibility than that. I have a marriage to tend to. We're supposed to bear fruit. And then I have more than that. I have some children, God forgive me. And more than I want fruit for myself, I want fruit for them. Can you relate to her? But I know they're watching my garden. I got a 14-year-old boy that's watching my garden. He's watching what I'm doing. I got an 18-year-old daughter watching what I'm doing. I got a one year and a half old daughter that doesn't know what I'm doing yet, but she's getting to know me. And then I have a ministry. And I desire fruit that may abound to your account. And if you have a ministry, and I my family's a ministry, my marriage is a ministry, my children is a ministry, I have a ministry to myself. But I also have another ministry. And I want to see your heart full of love and tender and the good soil, and then the seed planted in there. And every once in a while you've got to reseed. Somebody comes back in, a little backslid. That seed needs to be planted in there again. First comes the breaking. And then there needs to be water. Hey, what's the water? Abiding. Living by that river. What's the river? The Holy Spirit of God. Are you with me? Without me, you can do what? Nothing. God giveth the increase. God maketh the plant to grow. And He gives the increase, and it's so encouraging to me to watch the plants grow. You know what makes gardening worthwhile? The dinner table. Supper, man. Well, you get up there and get to eat the fruit a little bit. You know what the abundant life of a gardener is? Be able to sit up there and eat corn and tomatoes that just came out of the garden that have some taste to them, amen? You guys know what I'm talking about? Some of you are going, oh no. You know, my gardening consists of going to the grocery store. I understand. Go grow a plant and learn something about the word of God. You know what I'm talking about, though. That's the fruit of a gardener. You know what the fruit of a Christian is? So watch that. Fruit being born and then later on realizing it gave glory to God and when the Father is pleased. It'll be worth all the labor and the toils and the storms and the replanting and the cultivation and the and the and I'll I'll I'll tell you later on maybe about you know when I get in my garden? Go first. Now listen, if you'll come back tonight, this this we just scratched the surface. We'll get into gardening 401 tonight. I mean we're gonna come in on some things for us as Christians that'll be.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

I want to ask you a question and I'll be finished.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

How's your garden? You say what do you mean? Well let's start. How's your heart? How's your soil? How's your ground? Please look up here. How's your root system? Staying close to the water? Or are you in a drought? Or drown? Going through some dry time? Feel like a cactus? Root's not going down. Uh, a lot of weeds. We've all been there. Kind of feel a little bit un un uncomfortable today with oh man, I feel like, man, the hose out. I kind of gotta lost my focus. Did the gopher show up yet? Somebody's watching. Not only is our Heavenly Father watching, but those around us are watching. One of the most pleasurable times for a person who does a garden is when someone else visits and looks and says, Wow, could I have some of your fruit?

SPEAKER_00 46:31

Sure, man. Take all you want.

SPEAKER_01 46:33

Yeah, go get him a zucchini, son. Here, go get him an armload of corn. Go grab him some of those tomatoes off there. Give me some of the big ones and other cherry tomatoes, too. Give me some of those green peppers over there. Go get him some of this down there. Give him some of that down there. And you walk out, they're loaded, and you go, that's worth it. Because it brings them pleasure. What we're supposed to be doing down here, brother, and I'll leave you alone. Is bringing our Father pleasure. Herein is my Father glorified that you bear much, say it, fruit. We need to look at the soil, look at the water, look at the roots. We need to look at our heart, we need to look at our faith. We need to look at our abiding with the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_00 47:18

We need to look at the weeds if they're growing. And if so, simply, we need to let the Holy Spirit get the hoe out and start weeding again. We all get there sometimes, don't we? You know what I'm supposed to do? Provoke you to loving good works.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

You know what good works do? Help you maintain fruit. Let's have a good growing season. If God gives us another month, we'll bear some fruit, maybe. If God gives us six months, we'll bear some fruit. If God gives us a year, we'll bear some fruit. If God gives us ten years, Lord willing, we'll stay by that river. And whatsoever we do, it shall prosper. That's what church is all about. Would you bow your heads for a moment?

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Close your eyes. Please don't leave. Just a couple more months won't be dismissed.

SPEAKER_01 48:12

I hope this came across. I hope you received it. I hope you're thinking. I've prayed and said, Lord, this is kind of one of those messages where they may have a hard time getting excited because of the teaching part of it. With your head's bowed and eyes closed.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

First of all, the soil. First of all, the soil, the heart.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

If your heart's been a little bit stony, and maybe you've never received the word of God, maybe, maybe you've heard the gospel that Jesus Christ came and He died and was buried and He rose again from the dead, but it fell on stony ground. And it never was. And maybe, maybe someone came along like the devil and just picked that thing off. It never didn't catch any roots. Maybe it never has caught hold. Maybe there isn't even a plant growing. Maybe you're still dead in your sins and your trespasses. And I'm not saying that in a harsh or an unkind way. The Bible says that, and that's where I was until I was 24 years old.

SPEAKER_00 49:08

If you've never received Christ as Savior, maybe right now your follow ground, your heart is being broken up and you can't understand why. It's because God wants to plant a seed in there and use your life. First of all comes salvation. First of all comes salvation. Maybe you don't understand it, you're a little confused, if you don't know for sure if you're on your way to heaven, if you don't know for sure if you died today when you face God at the great white throne, if you're on your way to heaven, if you're not sure. Would you at least let me pray for you? And I'm not trying to put you down, I'm not trying to be unkind. Maybe you've been in church before or been religious before, and I was all that. I was an altar boy. I went to church often, but I had a hard heart. And I have to say, at 24 years of age, I finally admitted that I'd never received Christ as my personal Savior. And he took me down and broke me. And that's where you're at today. At least let me pray for you. That God would continue the process of showing his love for you. That he died on the cross, that he wants to forgive you. With your heads bowed and eyes closed, Pastor, I'm not sure if I'm saved. I'm not sure if I'm on my way to heaven. I'm not sure if I'm even a Christian yet. Please pray for me. Nobody will come to you or anything like that. I just want to pray for you. Would you slip up your hand and say, that's me?

SPEAKER_01 50:34

Pray for me. God bless your honesty, ma'am.

SPEAKER_00 50:36

God bless your honesty, sir. God bless you. God bless you, ma'am. Someone else, let me pray for you. And I don't know your name, but God does. I should have raised my hands and I didn't. Pray for me. Father, pray that you would work in the hearts of these who've raised their hand. Maybe some are still even pondering it. Hey, Christian. I asked myself this question too. How's my heart? A little stony, a little pride? How's my heart? Is the root system really digging deeper into that soil and going down deeper?

SPEAKER_01 51:10

And I really, is it beginning to attach stronger and stronger? And that river of water, that water table, the Holy Spirit of God really developing a strong root system. And every once in a while the top of the plant gets pruned a little bit, like it should, but the bottom is growing stronger and stronger in faith. And there's more availability for fruit to be born. The storms come and that root system holds, that faith holds, and we're not moved away from the hope of the gospel, and we're not backsliding away because something happened.

SPEAKER_00 51:43

Or is your root system dried up a little bit and had drought? Maybe your daily devotions aren't what they should be. Maybe your church attendance is sporadic, and I'm not trying to put anybody down. Please. Believe me, that's not my heart. I just want fruit to be born to your account. That's all. You say, well, I'm feeling a little bit like I need to do something about it. Then good. Then very good. Would you stand now? Please, without leaving, just stand stretch for a moment. You've been sitting for a while. Why don't you look right up here at me just for a moment? Please.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

Thank you for listening so intently and kind of the dryness of the study a little bit this morning.

SPEAKER_00 52:35

I hope if you're a Christian, you come back tonight. I have relatives and friends and people that I know. Some are Christians, some aren't. One of the things I'm supposed to do is, through intercessory prayer, pray for them.

SPEAKER_01 52:52

Maybe you know someone that's a little backslid and their root system has begun to dry up a little bit, and they're not in that water. They're not in that soil that's moist.

SPEAKER_00 53:01

The heart's growing a little cold and the follow ground is crusty again. And the seed, the word of God, as it comes in now, the preaching, it just falls away. It wouldn't hurt to say, God, uh, is your child. Make it so that soil is porous again, that the water and the roots can develop further and further, that fruit can be born. And maybe for ourselves, we need to look at our friendships, our ministries, our marriages, our parenthood, and take some time and say, Oh God, make me more of the type of gardener that you want me to be. With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, we have an old-fashioned altar. Call if your needs salvation, or your needs to pray for someone you know, or your needs to pray for yourself, or your needs to pray for a marriage or a ministry or your children. Brethren, let's take just a couple of three or four minutes in our busy, busy schedules, which God owns our time anyways, and let's have some time of prayers. The instruments play.