Title: What the Gardener Does
Text: Luke 13:6-9.
FCF: We are supposed to grow. Jesus will make sure that happens.
SO: I’d specifically like to encourage the congregation to take risks in growing – things like committing to some evangelism…
Intro:
I’m not really much of a gardener. Today is the first Sunday of the Harvest season, and these are my tomatoes. [Show my tomato plant – not one on it!]
I remember the first time I tried to plant a garden. I had just bought my first house in Springfield. I went out and I bought a rotor-tiller, and I spent hours preparing the ground. I turned every bit of soil. I went out and I bought corn, beans, peas, carrots, and some cantaloupe. I made nice little rows, and I labeled everything. Somehow, my entire crop that year consisted of a single melon the size of my fist, and several cherry tomatoes that I think had been left over from the previous year. It was a complete failure. I learned to thank my God that I didn’t have to rely on my crops to feed myself. If I did, I wouldn’t have made it past the age of 12.
But, if I could develop one skill that would change my reading of the Bible – I think that would have to be it. Have you ever noticed how much of what Jesus said comes straight from the garden? Think about it: The Parable of the Soils; The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares; The Parable of the Vineyard Workers; The Parable of the Mustard Seed. These aren’t accidents. Yes, it’s true that a lot of the people in Jesus’ day were farmers, and so in large part I think he was just telling people what they knew – but I think there’s more to it than that. You see, Jesus even told Pharisees – people like me who couldn’t grow a crop to save their lives – parables about the garden.
I think he did it because he wanted to get across a point. He told stories about the garden, because he wanted people to grow. Growing is an organic thing. It involves both conscientious work and yet it still ultimately is up to God for the results. I think garden stories are some of the closest analogies we’ll ever see to the Kingdom this side of the Jordan.
So, with that in mind, I want to read you this parable. But as you listen, I want you to focus on something a little off point.
The point of this parable, as I said last week, is not the plant but the gardener. It’s his effort and his love that keeps us from being cut down.
But this morning, I want you to look at this from a different point of view. You see, if Jesus is the gardener, then we’re clearly the tree. What I want to focus on is what the gardener does with the tree. I want to focus less on how the gardener intercedes, and more on how the gardener goes about getting results.
You see, if we want to have any part in his work, we need to know the plan. As I read, I want you to focus on that – what is it that gardener is trying to do, and how is he going to go about doing it?
READ Luke 13:6-9
" Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”" (Luke 13:6-9, NRSV)
First of all, did you see what his overall goal was? Pretty simple, right? He wants the tree to produce fruit.
Yes, he saves the tree. But, it doesn’t end there. He wants that tree to grow, and he’s going to do anything he can to make it grow.
One of the dangers of believing in our “once saved, always saved” theology is that we think once we’ve entered through the pearly gates, all we need to do is sit back and enjoy it. That has some dangerous consequences.
A friend of mine told me something his son said to him in all earnestness. “Dad,” he said. “I’m not trying to be sacrilegious here, but let’s face it. That sittin’ up in heaven thing just playing the harp? I’m sure that would be great for, Oh say, 2000 years, but don’t you think it would get a little boring after a while?”
You know, I think he’s on to something. Without growth, I think I’d go nuts. Doing the same thing day in and day out isn’t how God designed us.
Well, I have some good news for this kid. I don’t think we’ll just be sittin’ around. Everything I’ve ever seen about Jesus is that he wants us to grow. Sure, he wanted the little children to come to him – but he never said they needed to stay children!
Throughout scripture, there’s a constant drumbeat – “Grow up!” (e.g. – "By this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness." Hebrews 5:12-13, NRSV)
Well, if that’s the goal, then how does he do it? Well, he does the things that any good gardener does, and I think it’s worth looking at those. Specifically, I saw four things that he does to give us the best chances for growing, and that’s what I want to look at.
1. He places the plants well.
2. He fertilizers the soil.
3. He breaks up the soil.
4. He knows when the time is right to take it.
The Gardener Places Well
First off, any good gardener knows that placing the plants is the most important thing you can do. If you put a shade-loving plant in full sun, it will die.
Look closely at the text, and you’ll see something interesting. Frankly, I missed it for the first several readings. Did you notice that the main plant here is a fig tree? Ask yourself this question. What’s a fig tree doing in a vineyard? The answer is, it was put there on purpose.
Back in Jesus’ day, when you made wine, you wanted it to be special. How did you that? You gave it special aromas and scents. There’d be a certain quality to the air that would make your wine different than anybody else’s. Now, since they didn’t have concentrated scents, do you know how they did it? They planted fruit trees that would season the grapes.
Have you ever thought about why you’re here in The Plains or Marshall, and not out in Montana? Well, I’d suggest to you that you’re here because God wants you here to season and scent this area. Maybe God could have put you in New York City – (Well, he probably loves you more than that ) - but he didn’t. Why? Because he knows this is where you’ll do the most good. Maybe there’s a person here for whom you are the exact aroma of the Kingdom that God desires.
(Story of Billy Graham and Leighton Ford )
You know Billy Graham told a story once about one of his crusades. Leighton Ford was giving the sermon one night, in preparation for Billy Graham to give the sermon on the closing night. Graham tells the story that he had decided to attend in cognito, sitting in the stadium with nothing that would particularly identify him. As Leighton Ford issued the invitation, he couldn’t help but looking at the man sitting beside him. He was clearly moved, but he kept holding back. He just wouldn’t budge. So, Billy Graham, perhaps prompted by the Spirit, taps him on the shoulder and says, "Son, do you want someone to come forward with you?"
"No," the man replies, "I’m waiting for Billy Graham. The big guns will be out tommorrow!"
I don’t know if Billy Graham revealed himself or not - but do you see the point? God had already put the right man in place. He was sitting right where he needed to be sitting.
Every single one of us has family, friends, neighbors – and while you may not think you have much in common with them, the truth is that you are exactly what they need.
In a marriage, it’s the same. You’ve heard, “opposites attract?” Well, let me add this – if both of you are the same, then one of you is unnecessary! You may have heard about “iron sharpening iron,” or being “salt and light.” It’s all part of the plan! Frankly, if you want to be truly useless, just isolate yourself so much that nobody knows you’re there!
But if you are out there, can I suggest you that it would do you good fulfill you role? Maybe that means asking your neighbor if they want to come to church. They probably have excuses – guess what, you have the best equipment in the world to hear those excuses. You might think, ‘O let’s get some hotshot evangelist to bring them in.’ No! The truth is that while the Billy Graham’s of this world may be good harvesters, the real evangelists are the ones who prepare the ground. Listen to them. Shake their world if you need to – but get involved in their lives.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to come to a world without mass communication? I’d suggest to you a simple answer. The Kingdom was never meant to be a mass market phenomenon. Simply put, the Kingdom has always been a very simple message – one beggar telling another where to find water. If you believe that the Gospel is four spiritual laws or a simple truth proposition, you’re missing the point. The Gospel is Good News, a relationship between one man and one Jesus. And how do you model that relationship? By being one man telling another where to find life.
Good news, just like good soil, has to be a one-on-one, close contact sort of thing. If it isn’t personal, it won’t take root.
But, sometimes, there’s a problem with soil. Over time, it can get so hard, that plants can’t grow in it. Or, it may be missing nutrients.
The Gardener Feeds the Soil
You know the best way to get nutrients back into the soil? You let your cows run over it. Well, it’s not so much the running as something else they do that gets it going. I know this sounds unpleasant – but if you’re a plant in particularly bad soil, sometimes having a big cow come over and do its business on you is the best thing that can happen!
When life is treating you like a cow – or the grass – you need to know that there might be a reason. You know that nobody loves chastening or reproof, but what kind of a father doesn’t occasionally try to let his son act like a man? Trials produce endurance, and endurance produces faith.
The Gardener Breaks up the Soil
But sometimes, the soil needs something even more drastic than a cow.
Virginia soil has a lot of clay in it – clay that keeps water from hitting roots, rocks that make it impossible for plants to break out of the ground. But we’re still able to grow crops in it. You know why? Because we take a plow to it and break it up.
A plow is really simple device – it’s basically a big ole’ knife that cuts up the earth. In doing so, it makes a space for seeds to grow. It’s been said that until the plow was invented, there was no civilization. You see, without a plow, you can’t have anybody engaged in anything but agriculture. The ability to break up the ground not only provides a space for the seed, it provides a surplus that can support everybody else – doctors, lawyers, farm managers, merchants.
But plowing earth is a pretty invasive thing. What would happen if the farmer said, “Oh, well, I’m concerned about invading the privacy of my plant beds!” I’ll tell what would happen – Nothing. All season long, absolutely nothing.
Plowing is a pretty dramatic thing. Over thousands of years, plowing in Nepal turned mountains into terraces. But it meant that those mountains could be useful!
The Gospel is the same way. By it’s very nature, it is earth-shattering. It says things that most people don’t want to hear. It says they aren’t good enough to get in on their own. But it also says there is a God who loves you anyway.
The biggest objection people have to sharing the Gospel is that they don’t want to upset anybody. Well, if you read your Bible, you will see that you’re right – people will be upset. But until they are upset, until there is change, there can’t be any growth. I wish I could sugar coat it and say, “Oh, well, it is really so bad.” But, I’d be lying. The Gospel is an offense – but that’s only because it sets bad things right. That means change! And you know, if there’s one thing people hate, it’s change!
If you’ve ever had a surgery, you know that it takes a few days to recover. Why? Because your body has been violated. Some surgeon has taken a knife and either ripped something out of your body or stuck something in it. It isn’t pleasant. It hurts. It changes your body. But guess what. If your body needed the surgery, it’s because something was messed up in the first place! Your body breaks down naturally. But thank God there are now ways of slowing that down! There are surgeries that can put things back the way there supposed to be.
Is it painful? Yes. Is it disruptive? Sure. But the “natural” state of the world is entropy. Disorder. Death, pain and suffering. If you have a Bible, you can be surgeon setting things back. Are you going to “save” the world? No! But you can heal for now. You can heal one. It just means being bold enough to do what needs doing.
It might even mean saving your friend.
The Gardener Assess the Situation.
And that, my friends, is important, because ultimately any good gardener knows there comes a time when you have to make a call. You see, every plant takes up soil. Every plant requires some work. Eventually, every gardener asks himself, “Is this plant worth it?”
Ultimately, every plant dies at some point. There are sequoia trees out in California that are over 4,000 years. But there comes a day that they stop growing. And when that day comes, they die. Give it a few years, and they eventually come crashing to the ground. It’s a sad day.
But, in its lifespan, that tree provides for the planet. It literally makes oxygen out of sunlight. It provides shelter – either for animals, or else if it’s chopped down, for humans. You go and visit them, and it will take your breath away.
But, if you let a sequoia tree just die on its own, do you know what it becomes? Matchsticks. I kid you not – When they were first learning to chop down redwoods – they often had to turn them into matchsticks, because they’d fall down and splinter into uselessness. The only thing you could do with this giant tree was turn it into a matchstick. Doesn’t that seem like a waste?
Well, it is. And the gardener doesn’t want to see that. But, properly timed, a redwood can do great things. It needs to be in the right place. Occasionally, you need to till around it. Sometimes, you literally throw manure on it. And, at some point, you need to make a decision. You and your neighbors are the same.
One of these days is going to be time to fish or cut bait. We all die. The question is how. In the time we left, each of us has to decide if we want to be useful, and if so how.
So, are you going to work with him? Let’s pray.
What does the Gardener Do?
1. He places us where we’ll do the most good. (Why a fig tree in a vineyard?)
2. He breaks us up and gives us what we need – not necessarily what we want (Let me til and dig and manure the tree)
3. He assess our progress. (If it grows, it grows, if not, I’ll cut it down.)
RR –
You should be taking meat, not milk bit…
But the fruit of the spirit is…
Parable of the sower – producing 30, 600, 100x.
But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
About this we have much to say that is hard to explain, since you have become dull in understanding. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; 13 for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. 6 Therefore let us go on toward perfection
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #212
“Be Thou My Vision”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Responsive Reading [See Right]
*Offertory Hymn #405
“We are called to be God’s People”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Scripture Luke 13:6-9
Sermon Mr. Hollinger
“What the Gardener Does”
Invitation Hymn #428
“In the Garden”
Benediction
Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ of Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand. Please use the index cards for any questions the sermon raises.
Depart To Serve
9/25 – After church, please stay to discuss how we will coordinate Hurricane Relief.
10/8 – DC Festival with Luis Palau on the National Mall
RESPONSIVE READING
“Listen! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
Other seeds fell among thorns,
but the thorns grew up and choked them.
But other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Let anyone with ears listen!”
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy.
But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way,
they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart,
and they bear fruit with patient endurance.
Now, the fruit of the Spirit is this:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
- Matthew 13:3-9; Luke 8:11-15; Galatians 5:22-23
