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Every gardener knows that a fruitful and plenteous harvest does not just
happen on its own. They also know that for all the work that they do, it only
amounts to about 5% of what it takes to bring about a bountiful crop. The other
95% is out of their hands. They have no control over the temperature from day to
day. They have no control over the sun, they cannot determine how much it rains.
My
brother is an agricultural scientist. He spent numerous years in college
studying soil and what makes plants grow. One Christmas many years ago he said
something that has stuck with me. He said, "The earth and its soil is every bit
as complex as the human body." That makes sense because man was made from the
earth.
Christ
told numerous parables comparing Christian growth to seed being cast into the
soil. The process is you
-
1.
Prepare the soil by breaking it up and fertilizing it
-
2.
Then you take a seed and plant it at the appropriate depth within the soil
-
3.
Water it
-
4.
Remove all weeds
-
5.
Give it ample sunlight
-
6.
And as need you add fertilizer
Here is
how it applies to Christian growth.
-
1.
The heart must be broken and contrite
-
2.
Christ must be received into the heart, & the word taken in and kept deep in
the heart
-
3.
Complete immersion of the Holy Spirit, & a continual attitude of prayer
-
4. A
separation from the world and all the lusts thereof
-
5.
Obedience to the truth that shines as a light on your path
-
6.
Feed often on the Bread of Life
Having
done all of this with a plant, growth still takes time. So there is one last
thing to do.
-
7.
BE PATIENT
In the
harvest the reapers are after fruit. At the second coming the angels are looking
for character. Your character is the only thing you can take from this life to
the next.
A baby,
a plant, and a Christian all need to grow to stay alive. If it is not growing,
it is dying. The is no stalemate in the judgment. At the close of the millennium
we are either inside or outside of the New Jerusalem. That is why it is
important to "endure to the end." Christians do fail from time to time but they
do not give up.
Let's
take one last look at planting a tree.
The Pot =
Our Bodies
The Soil
= Our Hearts
The Seed
= Jesus, the Word of God
The Water
= Prayer, the Holy Spirit
Fertilizer = The TRUTH
Weeds =
Sin, False Doctrines
Fruit =
Character
In the
harvest time when our little seed is all grown into a big tree what changed? The
soil or the seed that was placed in the soil?
The dirt
iis still dirt. In the same way our hearts are still SINFUL and will remain
sinful until the second coming when we are transfigured.
They
ONLY thing that has changed is the seed that turned into a tree, which is the
word of God, which is Jesus Christ. What changed is that the character of Jesus
Christ has matured inside our hearts.
Let's
not miss something very important out of this lesson. Next time you pray asking
for a blessing, remember to ask God to bless the SEED within your heart. Ask God
to bless the PROMISES in His word.
The
problem many face is a feeling of unworthiness. They have failed God miserably
so many times, that they no longer feel "good enough" to have God's blessings.
Of course YOU are not! Your heart is dirt and God knows that so get over it!
The seed
is the word which is Christ, and Christ worthy! Pray for God to bless the seed,
NOT the dirt. The promises of God are worthy to have the Holy Spirit poured out
upon them with out measure. Jesus is the only one to have ever experienced this.
For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for
God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him.
John 3:34
Don't miss this. The
latter rain is the Holy Spirit being poured out without measure. You and I will
never be "good enough" to receive this. We are sinners and always will be until
the Second Coming.
THE HOLY
SPIRIT IS TO BE POURED OUT WITHOUT MEASURE ON JESUS CHRIST WHO IS WITHIN US, AND
JESUS IS WORTHY TO RECEIVE THIS OUTPOURING.
Pray for
God to bless the seed not the dirt! | 
The Counterfeit Christ
