THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Galatians 6:7-8
Read at beginning of service:
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
INTRODUCTION
Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV)
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
What if I owned a greenhouse that had been given to me by my father? He used state of the art equipment to create the ideal structure for growth. The atmosphere is perfect. The lighting exact. The temperature is suited for flowers, fruit, or anything I want, and what I want is flowers and fruit.
I ask you to join me as I collect some seeds to plant. You’ve always thought I was a bit crazy, but what I do next removes all doubt. You watch me walk into a field and strip seeds off of weeds. Crab grass seeds, dandelion seeds, grass burr seeds. I fill a bag with a variety of weed seeds and return to the greenhouse.
You can’t believe what you’ve just seen. "I thought you wanted a greenhouse full of flowers and fruit."
"I do."
Then don’t you think you ought to plant flower seeds and fruit seeds?"
"Do you have any idea how much those seeds cost? Besides, you have to drive all the way to the garden center to get them. No thanks, I’m taking the cheap and easy route."You walk away mumbling something about one brick short of a load. (Just Like Jesus, by Max Lucado, p. 115-116)Everyone knows that you harvest what you sow. If you plant corn you’ll harvest corn. If you plant wheat, you’ll harvest wheat. If you plant a quarter, you’ll harvest a…wait a minute here! We only wish that was true! It’s funny though, what we know when we develop land, we tend to forget when we cultivate our hearts.
As we continue on with this series on supernatural transformation its important to realize that there is what I like to call a "greenhouse effect" happening to the heart.
the greenhouse effect
Your heart is like a greenhouse. There are many similarities between the greenhouse I described to you and each one of our hearts. It is a gift from your Father. It has everything necessary for growth. But your heart, like a greenhouse, needs to be managed correctly.
The thoughts that enter our greenhouse are like seed. Some produce fruit or flowers, others produce weeds. Sow seeds of hope and be encouraged. Sow seeds of doubt and be discouraged. We see this worked out in real life wherever we look. Some people are patient and forgiving. Others are sour, gloomy, and unforgiving. Why? Some have sown weeds and thorns and others have sown flowers and fruit.
We can see this pattern illustrated in life:
Two drivers are stuck in the same traffic jam. One is angry, the other is calm.
Two mothers face the same tragedy. One is destroyed, the other determined.
Two executives face the same success. One is cocky, the other is grateful to God.
Two husbands commit the same failure. One assumes God’s grace is limited, the other is grateful God’s grace abounds. (Lucado, pp. 117-118)
A man came home one day to a cranky wife. Arriving at 6:30pm, he spent an hour trying to cheer her up. Then he had an idea. "Let’s start over and pretend I’m just getting home." He went outside and came back in. His wife said: "It’s 7:30, and you’re just now getting home from work?" (Lucado, P.117)What seeds do you think the wife was sowing? Were they flowers? Were they tasty delicious fruits? If the heart is a greenhouse and our thoughts are seeds, do you think its important to be careful about what we sow? Would it be important to take care in watching which seeds we allow to come into the greenhouse? What about having a guard at the door? Is not guarding the heart an important task? What does the Bible say?
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
What do you think about this statement? If you test the principle in your life you find that it is true! What is in our hearts comes out in our lives!!
Luke 6:45 (NIV)
45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
That is why it is important that there is a guard at the door to our hearts.
guarding your heart
You’ve got to admit that some of our hearts have some nasty weeds growing in them. Weeds that tend to crowd out everything good that is there. But we need to understand something: The weeds don’t just happen to be there – they are there because they are planted!
Let any riffraff knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, steam billowing from his coat – and we let him in. Revenge wants a place to stay, so we offer the sofa. Pity wants to party, so we show him the kitchen. Lust rings the bell and we offer the bed. Friends, we really need to know how to say no! And yet many don’t.
For many of us we just don’t think of thought management. This is kind of odd when you observe that we live in a society which seems to have emphasis placed on time management, weight management, personnel management, even kitchen management! But what about thought management? Shouldn’t we be as concerned with managing our thoughts as managing our schedules?
Now let’s turn our eyes to Jesus. When you look at his life you realize that he was concerned with what got through the gateway of his heart. Many thoughts were denied entrance. How about a few examples:Arrogance for example. In one situation the people were determined to make Jesus their king. Now how would you and I feel about that? Most of us would readily welcome the idea of being "royal". Even if we didn’t accept the crown the invitation would probably still be enjoyed in our consideration. Not Jesus.
John 6:15 (NIV)
15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
Then there’s the conversation Jesus had with Peter. Upon hearing Jesus announce His impending death on the cross, Peter cried out,
Matthew 16:22 (NIV)
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Peter was on his way to questioning the necessity of Calvary. But he never had a chance to complete his rebuke. Christ blocked the doorway. He sent both the messenger and the author of the heresy running – Matthew 16:23 (NIV)
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
And then we can’t forget the time when Jesus was mocked. Have you ever had people laugh at you? When Jesus answered the appeal to heal a sick girl, he entered her house only to be told she was dead. What was his response?
Mark 5:39-40 (NIV)
39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep."
How did the people in the house take it?
Mark 5:40 (NIV)
40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
Just like all of us do at some point in our lives – Jesus had to face a moment of humiliation. But notice what Jesus’ did in response to their laughter in verse 40 – "…he put them all out". Jesus did not allow mockery in the house of the girl or in His mind.
You can easily see in these examples and elsewhere in the Bible that Jesus guarded His heart. If this was something He did, shouldn’t it be something that takes place in our life? Jesus wants our hearts to be fertile and fruitful. He wants us to have a heart like his. Remember that this is God’s goal for you. To supernaturally transform you so that your heart is exchanged for His heart. God wants us to think and act like Christ:
Philippians 2:5 (NIV)
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
But then the question we’re left with as always is how? And the answer is simple – we can be supernaturally transformed if we make one decision: I will submit my thoughts to the authority of Jesus.
we must submit our thoughts to the authority of Christ.
Notice the claim made by Jesus in Matthew 28:18:
Matthew 28:18 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Jesus Christ has the ultimate say on everything, especially our thoughts. He has more authority that our parents, and even more authority over us than ourselves. You may tell yourself that you are too bad to be forgiven, but Jesus has a different opinion. If you give him authority over you, then your guilty thoughts are no longer allowed.
But not only does Jesus have authority over our thoughts – but He also has authority over our ideas. Suppose you walk into a grocery store and happen to find yourself in the bulk food section – more specifically the candy section! The idea may enter your mind to grab one of the candies and eat it. Jesus, however, has made it clear that stealing is wrong. If you have given Him authority over your ideas, then the idea of stealing cannot remain in your thoughts and you will lose the desire to take that candy!
Of course that is a simple example – but the principle applies to our whole life. To have a pure heart, we must submit all our thoughts to the authority of Christ. If we are willing to do that, He will change us to be like him.
So, that’s the principle to having a pure heart – submitting our thoughts to the authority of Christ – but how do we work out this principle in our lives? Friends, the answer is simple.
Going back to the image of our heart as a fertile greenhouse ready to produce good fruit we need to add to this image our mind which is the doorway to our heart – the strategic place where you determine which seeds are sown and which seeds are discarded. And then finally – we need to add to this image a doorkeeper – a guard – someone who helps manage and filter the thoughts that try to enter. The Holy Spirit is such a person and He can help guard your heart! He stands with you at the threshold as a thought approaches the door. When this thought surfaces you:
2 Corinthians 10:5b (NIV)
… and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.The door isn’t left unguarded. When thoughts like "you are a loser" or "you are no good" come, instead of letting them in, you take them captive. Being led by the Spirit you march that thought before the judgment seat of Christ. You submit the thought to the authority of Christ and say, "Jesus is this a thought that you would harbor? It says that I’m a bum and a loser and that I’ll never amount to anything. What do you think?" If Jesus agrees with the thought, then let it in. If not, kick it out.
How do you know if Jesus agrees or disagrees? You open your Bible. In this case we can find out what God thinks about us in the following passages of the Bible:
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Romans 8:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
It is clear that any thought that says you are inferior or insignificant does not pass the test and hence should not gain entrance. You have a right to kick that thought in the pants and make it run.
But what if the thought comes to you and compliments you? What if you hear not how bad you are but how good you are. "You are so good. You are so wonderful. The world is so lucky to have you" and the thought continues to grovel in front of you.
Usually, we’d welcome this thought without any reservation. But then, when we submit our thoughts to the authority of Jesus Christ we don’t do things the usual way. So we take the thought to Christ. Looking in His Word, we quickly find that pride doesn’t please God:
Romans 12:3 (NIV)
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Galatians 6:14 (NIV)
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
You quickly learn by submitting your thoughts to Christ that yes, you are valuable to God – but your value isn’t based on anything you’ve done – it is all based on the merits of what Christ has done and your faith in Him!
CONCLUSION
So you see, it is important that every thought be made captive and presented to Jesus! The thought may be a temptation to sin sexually. It may be a temptation to tell a lie. The thought may be an idea that begins to take root in your mind of the way YOU view things. TAKE IT CAPTIVE – haul all your thoughts – all your ideas before Christ and say – "Lord, yes or no! Should I let this into the greenhouse? Should I sow this seed?"
Friends, the more selective you are about the seeds that are sown in your heart, the more delighted you will be with the harvest. What we sow is what we reap. The thoughts and ideas we sow determine the kind of life we harvest. And finally, the life God wants us to harvest – IS THAT OF JESUS CHRIST!!
This sermon was preached by Darren Ethier at Hanover Pentecostal Church on February 18, 2001. This message is Part 7 of the sermon series: Supernatural Transformation. It is recommended that the book, Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado be read as it served as the inspiration for much of this series. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, Copyright © 1873, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
